IN the post conflict post disaster Aceh, people are now dealing with Islamic Shariah. Some argue that the Shariah is an integral part to Aceh’s local philosophy of life and local culture which circle around this almost 15-century-old religion. Some challenge the notion.

Such polarization of ideas is evident in Jinayah regional regulation or Qanun draft debate in Aceh House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Aceh/DPRA) that legalizes stoning as a punishment.

On June 22 2009, many came to the meeting. Members of Special Committee XII – a committee focusing on issues around Qanun, representatives from High Court and Attorney Office, Shariah Council members, legal experts from Syiah Kuala University and Ar Raniry State Islamic Institute.

Hamid Zein rejects the stoning proposal. He is the Bureau Chief of Law and Public Affairs of Aceh Regional Secretary.

“We do not reject Islamic Shariah all together. In our opinion, whipping is already a sufficient punishment. Stoning is unnecessary,” he says.

Stoning is stipulated in Article 24 point 1: Anyone who intentionally commits sexual intercourse outside marital bond will face ‘uqubat hudud’ or whipping 100 times if he or she is not married and ‘uqubat rajam/stoning to death’ if he or she is married

This punishment is applicable to any individual or institution assisting the act.

Hamid’s stance surprises Special Committee members.

One upset person is Iskandar. Giving Hamid a cold shoulder, he says, “Never let an opinion from an ordinary human being steer us away from the law of Allah.

Secretary of Special Committee XII Bustanul Arifin shares similar view with Iskandar. He represents Prosperous Justice Party in the Parliament. He affirms that stoning will be included in Qanun.

Effendi Gayo backs the pro-stoning argument. Effendi is one of the judges of Banda Aceh High Court. He highlights the prerequisite of the punishment. Stoning requires four witnesses altogether.

Until the meeting ends, Special Committee insists on stoning. On the other hand, the executive continues to reject it.

STONING or rajam is part of Islamic criminal justice or hudud law. Rajam means torturing someone until he or she dies. The perpetrator is tied to a pole or has his or her body except the head part buried. This person is then stone to death.

This punishment is adopted and assimilated from Arab customary law in the era of Mohammad the Prophet. It is also influenced by other pre-Islamic religions. The Jews and Christians in the fifth century AD also implement this punishment.

After Mohammad the Prophet passes away, politics later divided his followers into two factions: Sunni and Shiite. Wahabi wing, which orients itself to the teaching of Hambali, is affiliate with Sunni. The Wahabis become the most vocal group advocating Hambali’s view which includes having thieves’ hands cut off and stoning those who commit adultery. The same view also obliges women to cover their faces and men to grow their beards.

In the history of Indonesia, Wahabi-based Islamic puritan movement is known by the name of Paderi War. Paderi soldiers, led by Tuanku Imam Bonjol, slaughtered fellow Moslems in West Sumatera for adopting different views of Islam. The war started from 1819 to 1938. The Wahabis endorses Moslems outside their own circle to be murdered. Similar perspectives can also be found in Shiite in Ismailiyah and Qaranithah factions.

One of the biggest global Wahabi organizations is Al Qaeda, which spearheads terror in the name of Islam all over the world.

Meanwhile, Islamic teaching continues to grow as the society changes. In Modern Islamic community, the Moslem clerics decide criminal punishments suitable to the development of the society. The principle of qisash or revenge is put together with the principle of modern criminal justice system of ultimum remedium or providing remedies to the fabrics of society damaged by crimes committed by the perpetrators.

Since then, punishments as remedies are adjusted to suit the development of the society. Only Allah the Almighty will hand down the ultimate penalty in the After Life.

When Mohammad the Prophet led a mini State in the Middle East, stoning was part of the punishment portfolio. When Islam spreads to new frontiers and encounters with local cultures and when civilization develops, a punishment from the sixth century would surely be a mismatch to the local values.

The glorious history of Aceh also shows that Islam in this Veranda of Mecca accommodates local cultures and traditions. For hundreds of years, Aceh was led by both male and female leaders in its struggle against the colonials. Women held their traditional weapons called rencong high as the wind blew their hairs – an impossible feat in the Wahabi tradition. Sultan Iskandar Muda who governed the Islamic administration of Aceh in the past also incorporated women as armed troops.

If one argues that the implementation of Shariah Law will bring Aceh’s glorious past to the present time, this claim will have to answer many questions. It is because in the past time, three biggest Islamic factions of Sunni such as Bani Umayyah, Bani Abbasiyah, and Bani Usmani, and one Egypt-based faction of Shiite, Bani Fatimiyah – all of them allowed authority figures to have up to one thousand harems. This is a violation of the Holy Quran and the teaching of the Prophet himself.  It is clear that returning the glory does not require returning to the past – which is inglorious.

Aceh should also be viewed in the context of Indonesia - a non Islamic country. The implementation of Shariah law to regulate the Acehneses will create a State within a State. Malaysia, an Islamic country, does not even acknowledge stoning in its laws. Stoning makes death difficult because it forces the punished person to face a barbaric and humiliating way to face the final end. As his or her head crushed, eyes roll out from their sockets, face severely damaged – this person would suffer such excruciating pain before he or she finally died.

Now it depends on the decision of the clerics and the people in Aceh to determine which Islamic punishment should be used – the one which adds or lifts burden to their own brothers and sisters? Allah prefers the last option.


PROS and cons reach their culmination on Monday September 14 2009 as DPRA enacted five drafts into qanuns in its general assembly. They are Qanuns on Jinayah, Jinayah Proceeding, Empowerment and Protection for Women, Investment and Nanggroe Representative.

This attracts attention, both pros and cons, particularly to the Jinayah Qanun.

Activists from Shariah Concerned Civil Society Network (Jaringan Masyarakat Sipil Peduli Syariah/JMSPS) come to DPRA building and plea for a delay. They view this qanun puts more emphasis on heavy punishment rather than building education and justice in post conflict Aceh. Also, this qanun is in conflict with the 1945 Constitution and Aceh Governance Law.

”This Jinayah qanun does not answer the needs of Aceh people. Instead, it creates potential inter-group conflict harmful to the ongoing peace process in Aceh,” Azriana, as the coordinator of this action, explains.

JMSPS comprises of Human Rights NGO Coalition, Aceh Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan Aceh), RPUK, Aceh Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Aceh), Aceh APIK Legal Aid Foundation (LBH APIK Aceh), Coalition of Indonesian Women (Koalisi Perempuan Aceh), Flower Aceh, Tikar Pandan, ACSTF, AJMI, KKP, SEIA, GWG, Voices of Aceh Women (Suara Perempuan Aceh), Women Voices Radio (Radio Suara Perempuan), Violet Grey,  Pusham Unsyiah, and Sri Ratu Safiatuddin Foundation.

Meanwhile, those supporting Jinayah qanun also voice their concern. They unite under Communication Forum for Shariah (Forum Komunikasi untuk Syariah) and support its enactment.

Coordinator Muadz Munawar accuses that, “Foreign agents try to cancel the qanun by orchestrating phony arguments to divide the people into pros and cons.” He fails to explain what he means by foreign agents.

Hendra Koesmara from Aceh Indonesia Moslem Students United Front (Kesatuan Aksi Mahasiswa Muslim Indonesia Aceh) offers a more extreme point of view. In his opinion, those against Jinayah Qanun are against Islamic Shariah.

Aceh vice Governor, Muhammad Nazar, also speaks up. According to Nazar, rejection of stoning proposal from the executive is final.

Nazar argues that whipping itself is not acknowledged in the history of Islam in Aceh. “Indeed, Sultan Iskandar Muda is known to whip his own son. However, it is more of a display of Sultan’s personal stance, a way to maintain his credibility as the symbol of justice,” he explains.

For Jinayah qanun, Aceh government prefers financial or customary sanction to stoning. He views that this punishment is supported by those who lack complete reference.

“They think stoning is the only available punishment because they do not equip themselves with wider reference. In brief, we do not reject penalty from God. What we wish to do is to lower the hudud (punishment) to be in line with the legal substance,” Nazar explains.

Hamid Zein also explains that Governor Irwandi Yusuf asks National Commission of Human Rights to request United Nations to provide inputs on the content of Aceh qanun.

It is normal to have pros and cons on qanun content. Saifuddin Bantasyam from Syiah Kuala University however questions the rush over the enactment. With such controversy, DPRA should pass Jinayah Qanun over to the next 2009-2014 DPRA members for further review.

Head of Special Committee XII, Bachrom Muhammad Rasyid, states that he does not care whether this qanun violates human rights or not.

“Special Committee XII is committed to this Jinayah Qanun and will continue to include stoning into it,” he firmly states.

According to Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International Asia-Pacific Director, jinayah Qanun violates human rights convention because there are a number of problematic contents, including rattan whipping which is categorized as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Stoning to death is of course out of the question.

This is the first time ever for a local regulator to include stoning to death for adultery.

Amnesty International pushes newly-elected Aceh legislatives taking their posts in October to put the revocation of this punishment as their first priority.

“The Government of Indonesia should guarantee that decentralization and regional autonomy do not undermine human rights,” Sam Zarifi explains.***


*) Martha Andival is a Aceh Feature’s contributor at Banda Aceh