part 3
SHARIA AND COUNTERCULTURE IN ACEH
Kees van Dijk
Aceh has always been both a special and (for the central government)
a troublesome province. The region is well-known for the religious
disposition of its inhabitants and is invariably mentioned as one of
Indonesia’s ‘most Islamic’ regions. Aceh also has a history of fierce
resistance against any infringements on its freedom to arrange its own
affairs. In the closing decades of the 19th century it took the Dutch much
effort to subjugate Aceh, something which according to the Acehnese was
never fully accomplished. Between 1945 and 1950 no Dutch troops were
sent to Aceh. The Dutch refrained from any effort to re-establish their
authority there, afraid, if the Acehnese are to be believed, of the resistance
they might encounter. During this period Aceh wholeheartedly supported
Indonesia’s struggle for independence, but in 1953 it clashed with Jakarta.
Acehnese leaders, resisting control by the central government over the
judiciary, the local administration and local units of the Indonesian
army, took up arms and joined the rebellions that were taking place in
other parts of Indonesia, striving for an Islamic State of Indonesia. An
additional cause for concern that the province’s existence was in danger
was that Acehnese religious leaders had their doubts about the orthodoxy
of Islam being promoted by the central government; identified by these
leaders as being inspired by Islam as practised on Java. In 1957 a ceasefire
was agreed upon and in May 1959 Aceh was granted special status. It
became the Special Region of Aceh (Daerah Istimewa Aceh) (the only
other province with the same status was and is Yogyakarta) and it was
given autonomy in the fields of religion, customs and education.
In fact, May 1959 was not the right moment in Indonesian history to
be awarded a degree of self-rule. Two months later President Sukarno
proclaimed a return to the Constitution of 1945. The proclamation
ushered in Guided Democracy, a period that would prove to be at least as
oppressive as that of the New Order. The new name given to the province
survived, but that was all that was accomplished. Centralisation, not
decentralisation characterised the years between 1959 and 1998. The