Author: Nurdin Hasan
Publication: The Jakarta Globe
Date: January 31, 2010
URL: http://thejakartaglobe.com/news/shariah-targets-common-people-only-activists-say/355958
Banda Aceh. Two human rights activists said
on Sunday that the implementation of Shariah law in Aceh was unfair and discriminatory,
as it only applied to the common people, while government officials and wealthy
people were never sentenced to public lashings.
The comments follow the public caning of a
farmer, Syahrul, 40, in Jantho, Aceh Besar, on Friday, after being found guilty
of gambling.
Three of Syahrul's more daring associates
managed to escape from the Jantho Prosecution Office prison 15 minutes before
execution of the sentence.
"This gave the impression that implementation
of Shariah in Aceh is a laughable game. Especially as only the common people
are sentenced to lashing," said TAF Haikal, a civil rights activist.
"As an Acehnese, I will be ashamed if
this situation continues, because Islamic Shariah is great, noble and universal.
But in Aceh, it has been reduced to unethical misconduct," he said.
Haikal, a former general secretary of the
Aceh NGO Forum, said the perception of injustice comes from the fact that
only the common people had been publicly lashed, while convicted officials
had not.
"We know of officials that have been
arrested for khalwat [unchaperoned romantic or sexual tryst between an unmarried
couple], but none of them were caned," he said.
"Even more curious, a Shariah policeman
was arrested by the public for khalwat last year, but there has been no trial."
He also questioned the caning of Syahrul whose
betting bids were Rp 1,000 each, while, "covert gambling operations with
millions of rupiah at stake remain untouched by Shariah police raids."
Evi Narti Zain, executive director of the
Aceh human rights NGO coalition, also questioned why the four men arrested
for playing dominoes in Indrapuri subdistrict on Dec. 28, deserved to be lashed
six times.
"The Rp 1,000 stake might have been just
for fun. Afterwards, the money might have been used to buy themselves a meal.
These things should be considered in the Shariah court," she told the
Globe.
Evi said that the case further illustrated
the victimization of the lower classes and the absence of justice in the enforcement
of Shariah, which was "discriminatory, especially against women."
"It's not the Shariah law itself that's
at fault here, but the implementation of the law is wrong."
Since the law was put into effect in Aceh
in 2001, she said, it had focused on the same issues, "raids against
women wearing tight clothing or not covering their head, arrest of people
going on a date, common people playing games of chance."
"Meanwhile, there are other aspects relating
to public service that do not comply with Islamic law," Evi said.
Teungku Faisal Ali, secretary general of the
Aceh Ulema Association, admitted in a separate interview that Shariah had
remained at a standstill due to a lack of seriousness on the part of the government
to implement it as suggested by the Koran and the hadiths [the sayings of
Prophet Muhammad].
"In the last three years, the use of
Shariah has taken a step backward because the legal structure is inadequate
and the government is not serious in fully applying the law," he said.
Faisal, who also chairs the Aceh branch of
Nahdlatul Ulama, said that as a result, the public had come to think of the
law as discriminatory and unfair.
"Shariah recognizes no discrimination,
because Islam is a blessing for the universe and its occupants. Islam is fair
and indiscriminate in the upholding of justice. Those who are guilty should
be punished, though in Islam those who repent can also be forgiven,"
he said. "Islam holds mankind in high esteem, especially women, because
it is a great and noble religion."
The use of Shariah was granted during Abdurrahman
Wahid's administration, more as an attempt to resolve the conflict between
the Free Aceh Movement and the national security forces.
