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A bill proposed by lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh would impose Shariah law on all non-Muslims, the armed forces and law enforcement officers, a local police official has announced.
The news comes two months after the Deutsche Presse-Agentur warned of “Taliban-style Islamic police terrorizing Indonesia's Aceh”.
Shariah took effect in 2005 in Aceh, a predominantly Muslim region on the northernmost tip of Sumatra. But it only applied to Muslims.
In the months following the tsunami in December 2004, the Aceh government had begun vigorously enforcing a three-year-old provincial statute on Shariah. Human rights groups have expressed concern.
Alyasa Abubakar, head of the relevant local government office, declared recently: "Based on equality in law, Acehnese people have formally proposed ... to apply the Islamic Shariah Law to all those residing in Aceh, including military, police and non-Muslims."
The provincial Islamic law department has called a further crackdown on 'immorality' - alcohol, gambling, women appearing in public without headscarves or venturing out at night without a male escort.
Recently a young Acehnese woman was allegedly publicly flogged for kissing her boyfriend in public, while another 23-year-old has been locked up in Acehnese jail for more than two weeks without access to an attorney after being caught drinking beer.
Shariah police are said to have barged into the lobby of a leading Banda Aceh hotel to arrest three women attending an international conference because they were not wearing headscarves.
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This is a tough one. According to wikipedia, 88.2% of indonesians(according to the last census, taken in 2000) consider themselves muslim.
I find this tough for two reasons. Firstly, although the vast-majority are muslim, a country should always try to protect its minorities. That said Indonesia is well-known to be the worlds most populous muslim nation and non-muslims should expect it to be an Islamic state.
What I personally find ridiculous though(although I obviously respect each nations' laws - and would do if I ever visited Indonesia) is that in the year 1427 we actually have to have religious police at all. I mean, people should be free to practice their religion as they see fit and not to be told how to do it by people who, as far as I can see, have been given a lot of power.
Finally, although I am certainly no expert on sharia law(far from it), I would find it unlikely that it was a major offense to not be wearing hijab. Even assuming for a second that it is, I would personally not force this on a non-religious/non-muslim person. This seems rather harsh.
Posts: 61 | From: England | Registered: May 2006
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