The GAM leadership in Sweden quickly condemned the move of the Indonesian government, arguing sharia law was not what the Acehnese wanted or needed and would add more problems to the already troubled province than it solves. To force the Acehnese in line with this new rule, the religious establishment received a new toy named WH aka sharia police who would work under the responsibility of the newly established Dinas Sharia Islam.

In the beginning, the Acehnese hardly noticed the new situation but that quickly changed after the tsunami in December 2004. The first time this sharia police was let loose onto the public was in early 2005. The then Banda Aceh mayor Razali Yusuf (a big sharia law fan) announced it was time for the public lifestyle to become more Islamic. The first target became Muslim women who wore tight jeans and/or without headscarf.

The arrested women were loaded onto trucks and taken away to the Dinas for registration and verbal humiliation. Members of a Jakarta-based NGO for women empowerment were arrested during a raid by sharia police in Hotel Sultan while sitting outside the meeting room. While the ladies were loaded onto vans the gathered crowd outside the hotel screamed "hookers" at them, perceiving them to be arrested commercial sex workers.

The NGO in Jakarta were angered and sent a strong protest letter to the mayor. Beaches became off-limits for unmarried couples and in some areas in Aceh even closed completely by the local community. The effect on the local economy - just recovering after the tsunami) were disastrous. People stopped eating out at night and had takeaways at home instead.

Islamic law offenders being unlawfully expelled from their villages by the village head as a punishment. Forced marriages for unwed couples caught sitting together in the dark and the like. The list goes on and on. The public flogging of male and female sharia law offenders has greatly damaged the reputation and image of Aceh both nationally and internationally, and led to the sadistic and barbaric image of the Acehnese.

Aceh had become a "spy on your neighbor" society. And the religious establishment applauded that Aceh was finally coming in line with their interpretation of Islam. One line of business that was hardly affected by the raids is Banda Aceh's large commercial sex industry, hiding behind the beauty salon signs.

The raids decreased significantly and the local economy saw increased profits. Now, since the implementation of sharia law, has it significantly benefited Acehnese population in general? Are people obeying the traffic law better than before? Has corruption, collusion and nepotism significantly decreased? Has public awareness on morality increased?

Has the separation of boys and girls in the classroom added to the quality of education or moreover motivated the students to pay more attention in class? Has it doubled the amount of national and foreign investment in the province, thus creating thousands of desperately needed new jobs for both skilled and unskilled Acehnese ? Has it supported the image of Aceh as the place to be for holidaymakers? The answer to all these above listed questions is a loud no.

In some cases the implementation of sharia law has worsened the situation in Aceh. Any fellow Indonesian Muslim foolish enough to promote the implementation of sharia Islam ala Aceh in Indonesia instead of embracing Pancasila as our state ideology, please take note!

Teuku Agam
Banda Aceh

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