Islam and Dormant Citizenship: Soft Religious Ethno-Nationalism and Minorities in Aceh, Indonesia

ABSTRACT

This article aims at examining the recent (re)construction of citizenship in Aceh, which is based on sharia as well as on ethno-religious nationalism, and the impact of this (re)construction on minority rights in the province. Because sharia has become a cultural, social, political and legal fact in Aceh, the province has gradually created its own notion of civic belonging, which departs from national citizenship, defined by religion and protected by religious ethno-nationalism. It is argued that such religious ethno-nationalism has created what we call dormant citizenship, in which citizens of Aceh are divided on the basis of religious affiliation into ‘ummatic citizens’, who are considered as the ‘hosts’ of the sharia land with their full rights, and non-ummatic citizens, who are considered as ‘guests’ with only partial rights provided by the ‘hosts’. We shall also argue that dormant citizenship is a synthesis between four political traditions: Islamic, ethnic, Indonesian, and Western. At the end of this article, we shall outline some conditions that might enable non-Muslims to enjoy much broader rights.

KEYWORDS:

• Aceh
• citizenship
• sharia law
• qanun
• religious ethno-nationalism
• minority rights

Acknowledgements

We thank the Contending Modernities research project at Notre Dame University and its Indonesian cluster coordinator, Dr Mun’im Sirry, which made the research and the writing of this article possible, and Marzi Afriko for his assistance with local knowledge and connections.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/id/id048en.pdf (accessed May 17, 2020).

2 On the biography of Hasan Tiro, see Hamzah (2014).

3 Some districts and municipalities have issued local decrees (peraturan daerah) inspired by Islam on certain issues, such as zakāt (alms giving), alcoholic drinks, gambling, religious schools (madāris dīniyya), and prostitution, but they do not implement Islamic penal law. They are not officially called sharia bylaws, and are rules related to public morality rather than to sharia proper (see Buehler 2008; Crouch 2009).

4 This definition of sharia is found, for instance, in Qanun No. 10/2002 on Islamic Courts and Qanun No. 11/2002 on the Implementation of Islamic Sharia in the Fields of Islamic Belief (ʿaqīda), Worship (ʿibāda) and Symbols (shiʿār).

5 FGD notes, Langsa, 22 December 2016.

6 ‘Tgk’ stands for ‘teungku’, a traditional honorary title for Islamic religious scholars.

7 Pancasila (lit. ‘five principles’) is Indonesia’s national ideology comprised of five principles: (1) Belief in One Supreme God; (2) A just and civilized humanity; (3) A unified Indonesia; (4) Democracy led by the wisdom of a consensus or representatives; and (5) Social justice for all Indonesian people.

8 Interview with Tgk Tu Bulqaini, advisor of Front Islamic Defender (FPI) Banda Aceh, 7 October 2018; with Abu Haris Naufal, a Salafi scholar, 6 October 2018; and with Tgk Faisal Ali, vice chairperson of the Deliberative Council of Ulama (MPU) and chairperson of the Nahdlatul Ulama of Aceh, 3 October 2018.

9 The proverb is quoted in the Elucidation of the Qanun No. 11/2002 on the Implementation of Sharia in the Fields of Belief (Aqīdah), Devotion (Ibādah) and Symbols (Shi‘ār). (Dinas Syariat Islam 2009, 7).

10 Syaikh ‘Abd al-Ra’uf al-Sinkili, known as ‘Syiah Kuala’, was Shaykh al-Islam of the Aceh Sultanate during Sulṭāna Taj ul-‘Alam Safiatuddin Shah (r. 18 February 1641–23 October 1675), the daughter of Iskandar Muda, and the wife of his successor, Iskandar Thani, and and the next two sultanas, until his death in 1693. See Azra (2004, 71); On the Aceh Sultanates see Khan (2010, 2017).

11 Sultan Iskandar Muda’s wife was the Princess of Pahang. This indicates that she was given an important role in maintaining civil law. In today Aceh, qanun is used as civil bylaw pertaining to sharia and general affairs. See Clavé-Çelik (2014, 280).

12 This indicates that the admiral, who was in charge of maritime security, held an important position in the Aceh sultanate. The admiral was Keumalahayati or Malahayati, a female fighter of the Aceh Sultanate. See Clavé-Çelik (2014, 280).

13 https://www.republika.co.id/berita/dunia-islam/islam-nusantara/14/03/29/n3726h-larangan-berjilbab-melanggar-ham-1 (accessed 15 April 2020).

14 https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/umat-islam-dan-kristen-di-aceh-investigasi-bersama-kasus-pemurtadan.html (accessed 17 May 2020).

15 Interviews with Ustadh Hambali Sinaga, local leader of Front of Islamic Defence (FPI) of Singkil, 21 April 2016; and with Suriadi, the head of Singkil Islamic Youth, Yogyakarta, 12 July 2016. After the church burning accident, Suriadi fled to Yogyakarta.

16 Tgk Faisal Ali and Tgk Tu Bulqaini, two representatives of the dayah leaders, said that this had nothing to do with such a conflict; rather, the conflict was caused by a violation of local consensus based on the Shāfiʿī ruling that that there should be only one jāmiʿ mosque (a mosque used for Friday prayer) in a village, except when there was a new consensus to add another mosque because of the large number of attendees. In both the cases referred to here, according to the dayah representative, there was no such consensus. However, Prof. Alyasa’ Abubakar, former Muhammadiyah provincial chairperson, said this argument was irrelevant, because the local communities of these two regions belonged in the past mostly to the modernist All-Acehnese Ulama Association (Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh). Interviews with Tgk Faisal Ali, 6 September 2018; with Tgk Tu Bulqaini, 7 September 2018; and with Professor Alyasa’ Abu Bakar, 6 October 2018.

17 Interviews with Bondan Tarigan, Takengon, 27 December 2017, and with two local Christian people, Tamiang, 23 December 2016.

18 Interview with Akim, leader the Chinese community Persatuan Tolong Menolong, Tamiang, 27 December 2016. See also Srimulyani et al. (2018). On Chinese communities in Aceh, see Usman 2009.

19 According to statistics for 2018, the number of Christians (both Protestants and Catholics) in these sub-districts is as follows: Simpang Kanan (4,567 out of a total population of 14,822), Danau Paris (3,744 of 7,719), Gunung Meriah (2,658 of 35,704), Suro Makmur (1,984 of 8,811), and Pulau Banyak Barat (1,425 of 3,094) (BPS Statistics of Aceh Singkil Regency 2018, 48, 146).

20 Interview with Boas Tumangger, head of Forum Cinta Damai Aceh Singkil (Forcidas), 13 August 2016.

21 Interview with Boas Tumangger, 13 August 2016.

22 FGD notes, Langsa, 22 December 2016.

23 The Setara Institute rated Banda Aceh the third most intolerant city in Indonesia in 2018 (Yudhistra 2019) https://www.tagar.id/10-kota-toleran-vs-10-kota-intoleran-di-indonesia (accessed 19 May 2020), while the Ministry of Religious Affairs in its survey of Religious Harmony in 2019, put Banda Aceh in the lowest place (Prabowo 2019).

24 Interview with Fatimah, Chief of Persatuan Muallaf Aceh Sejahtera (Association of Prosperous Aceh Muslim Converts; PMAS), Banda Aceh, 24 August 2016; and interview with Muhammad Rasyid, the leader of Formula (a muallaf organization), Banda Aceh, 28 April 2016.

25 Interview with Boas Tumangger, 13 August 2016.

26 Interview with Prof. Syahrizal Abbas, 25 September 2018.

27 FGD notes, Banda Aceh, 13 August 2016.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Contending Modernities at the University of Notre Dame: [grant number 383128UINJ]; Contending Modernities at the University of Notre Dame: [grant number 383128UINJ]; Contending Modernities at the University of Notre Dame: [grant number 383128UINJ].