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slamic bylaws in Indonesia exist mostly at the district rather than national level and are adopted in an arbitrary fashion, making it not strict in implementation, an expert says.

The expert, Michael Buehler, a political analyst from the University of London'€™s School of Oriental and African Studies, said that based on his research from 2005 until now, 443 bylaws linked to Islamic rules had been issued across the archipelago since the fall of former president Soeharto.

Of the 443 bylaws, 90.7 percent were implemented at the regency or municipal level and 67.5 percent of all the bylaws were introduced in seven provinces where local Islamic groups had a strong influence. They are Aceh, West Sumatra, Banten, West Java, East Java, South Kalimantan and South Sulawesi.

He added that strong Islamic groups in the seven provinces included the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) and the Islamic Reform Movement (Garis), which were suppressed during Soeharto'€™s authoritarian rule.

'€œHowever, the administrations implement it in arbitrary manner. It is more of the Islamic local groups who remind the officials to enforce it or [they] enforce it themselves, often in illegal ways,'€ Buehler said Thursday at a public discussion titled '€œThe Diffusion of Sharia Law across Indonesia'€ at the Habibie and Ainun Library.

He said the adoption of Islamic regulations occurred more in regencies and municipalities rather than being enforced in one entire province or at the national level.

The adoptions are not rooted from thorough learning of the religion or through religious practices but are more to do with political dynamics, according to his research.

'€œAny political parties in Indonesia are poorly consolidated that it is hard for state elites [who are mostly secular] to mobilize voters so they go to these groups. ['€¦] These groups are locally rooted and have actually really well developed networks. They also have the Islamic credibility the parties need to mobilize the conservative elections,'€ he said.

'€œAfter the election, some politicians adopt this law because that'€™s what the group asked them [to do] before. So the anti-Ahmadi often seems to be the reward for this group after they support some candidates,'€ he said.

Buehler added that the adoption of the bylaws had nothing to do with Islamist parties'€™ influence because they had only had an average of 15 percent of voters in national legislative elections since 1999 to 2014.
Besides, most elites who approached the local groups were secular ones with more capital.

The Islamist parties that he included in the research were the Crescent Star Party (PBB), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the Indonesian Nahdlatul Community Party (PPNUI) and the United Development Party (PPP).

Of 420 Islamic bylaws, at least 250 are directly related to Islamic teachings while the remaining 170 are related to morality that was in line with Islamic guidelines. Of the 250, 24 percent of them are regulations on zakat (mandatory alms).

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said recently that his ministry had annulled 139 divisive bylaws and was evaluating 216 others.

'€œThat'€™s not including the unreported ones. There are many bylaws that remain unreported to the central government. I emphasize here: bylaws are not binding unless they are approved by the Home Ministry,'€ he said. (rbk)