154 islam, politics and change
The measures taken in Cianjur, also known asKota Santri(City of
Devout Muslims), were presented as a response by the local administra-
tion to tackle moral hazards confronting young men and women. To
promote moral behaviour, the Cianjur administration, on the initiative
of the bupati, Warsidi, formulated a number of intentions, starting with
theGerbang Marhamahprogramme, to revive Islamic norms.³⁶ The
programme is promoted all over Cianjur and is therefore well-known.
A large gate as you enter the city of Cianjur has the words ‘Gerbang
Marhamah’ written on it.
A number of regulations were issued to support its implementation,
one of which is the regulation on clothing. Although only female civil
servants have to wear a jilbab, the main Gerbang Marhamah project
aims at all Muslim women. The wordakhlak, meaning ‘good conduct’, is
frequently used in official documents and regulations. It is mentioned in
the overall ‘vision’ of Cianjur city – Cianjur Healthier, Smarter, More
Prosperous, and Better Behaved – and in its ‘missions’, one of which is to
intensify ‘the building of a better morality in society, the nation, and the
state’. Akhlak is also used in a number of slogans. One, displayed on large
billboards in the city, urges the people in Cianjur to improve their moral
conduct and become model Muslims: ‘[i]mprove your morality, and
your faith becomes perfect’. While such slogans are directed at Cianjur
citizens of both sexes, one slogan on another giant billboard specifically
urges Muslim women to cover their heads, as this is considered to be a
sign of piety. The slogan reads, ‘Veiling is a distinguishing mark of pious
Muslim women’.
Earlier research by Komnas Perempuan (Women’s National Com-
mission), the Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture (csrc) and
the Wahid Institute has drawn attention to three cases in which three
non-Muslim women, working at a post office, as a school teacher, and
teaching at the State Senior High School, were forced to wear a jilbab. It
was claimed that while a non-Muslim student does not have to cover her
head, a non-Muslim teacher has no choice but to follow the regulation,
as teachers should set an example for their students.
In fact, there does not seem to be much opposition to the jilbab rule.
An increasing number of women see covering the head as a religious
obligation. Most of the Muslim women in Cianjur I interviewed appear
to regard the jilbab policy as positive, while in government offices,
Jaih Mubarak, ‘Gerakan Pelaksanaan Syariah Islam di Cianjur’, a paper presented
at the Annual Conference (Konferensi Tahunan) Pascasarjana ptain se-Indonesia,
held by the Graduate School of iain Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh and the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, 1–4 December 2004, Banda Aceh nad.