Evaluating the Implementation of Sharia in Aceh, Indonesia

This paper critically studied the perspectives of people living in Aceh, particularly in Bireuen toward the implementation and enforcement of Sharia. This study was conducted by qualitative approaches as a phenomenological study to cope with every idea emerging toward the legalization, implementation, and enforcement of sharia. The data were gathered by open-ended interviews to ensure that each perspective adjacent to the sharia was portrayed clearly. The result indicated that problems existed upon the implementation: the problems of Sharia formalization, unrelated qanun, the position of Sharia authority, polemics of Sharia, and other pros-and-cons of the Sharia itself. Hence, the government, along with relating parties, had to reconsider the strategies and ways in implementing sharia as a legal law. The point here was to make the Acehnese people performed and obeyed Islamic tenets as their dignities as Muslims, not by force or fear of penalties from the government.


A. Introduction
Aceh is one of the provinces in Indonesia that acquire specific autonomy status. It is stated in Regulation Number 44 of 1999 about the Organization of Specific Status for The Province of Aceh. The specific autonomy itself encompasses four aspects including the implementation of sharia (Islamic law), cultures and traditions, education (Manan, 2020a), and the role of ulama (Islamic scholars) within government. In addition, sharia is a set of principles that regulates the relationship between a Muslim and God in terms of social, moral, religious, and legal guidance. It is implemented through Islamic jurisprudent, fiqh, which is a branch of Islamic science of interpreting the religious text, to deduce for legal rulings (Uddin, 2009). Therefore, the implementation of sharia is significant for Aceh considering it is the first area in which Islam is introduced and developed across Indonesia (Suyanto, 2005).
Sharia has become the identifying mark of Aceh for a long time. The principles of Islam grow, develop, and are embedded within the Acehnese society throughout history, which are then transformed into an identity (Manan, 2014). Each aspect of society in Aceh contains the values of Islam; people have immersed themselves in the values of Islam. Inevitably, the values and tenets of Islam become the Acehnese values, which regulate every aspect of human life. Sharia is not only an effort of reconstructing the glory history of the Acehnese kingdom that first implemented the sharia but also a belief from the deepest hearts of every Muslim to upright the value of monotheism of God and the truth (Fahmi, 2012).
The implementation of Islamic law in Aceh has been committed for years, yet, it still requires much enforcement and enhancement in various aspects. Many also confronted the effectiveness of the law, either in the western part (Manan, 2020b) or even in the capital (Manan, Gunawan, et al., 2020). The Acehnese people seem enthusiastic by the time the implementation of sharia was legalized as the establishment of Mahkamah Syariah (religious court) on March 4, 2003, by the Presidential Regulation No.11 of 2003 (Sarong & Melayu, 2012). The executions, canning by rattan stick, were only performed in a few regencies and cities for the violators in many cases such as gambling, drinking, and seclusion. This fact made the opposition of the implementation of sharia considering the sharia had been failed and was improper for Aceh (Adnan, 2008).
The  (Butt, 2019). Those acts introduced a new form of penalties: rattan-canning, which was an innovative punishment to prevent violations of the law. Since the penalty differs from conventional punishment, some controversies rise within society. There are supporting opinions, also the refusal, which had been appeared since the qanun was still a concept (Din, 2009).
One part within the law was about the jinayat (criminal code). The formulation of jinayat has been accomplished, and it has been legalized by Acehnese Qanun No. 6 of 2014; it has been implemented since 2015 (Serambinews, 2015). The implementation of Islamic law as the legalized criminal code is a pilot project in Indonesia. Until now, it is still in the phase of adaptation since many adjustments, evaluations, and developments are required to gain the best form of the Islamic criminal code. Moreover, the significant part is the test of affectivity of the codes to achieve the goal of the law: as a way to make a secure and ordered society.
With the existence of law regulation as qanun in Aceh, it does not mean that the sharia is running well under the expectation. It is possible because the understanding of the sharia among the Acehnese people was still ambiguous. Some understand the sharia merely as wearing the hijab, and others take it as a prohibition on gambling, drinking, and seclusion. Radically, others recognize the sharia is only limited to human relationship with God in a subjective and personal way, not in the public sphere so that the application of sharia does not require the institutions or rules from the government (Syarqawi, 2007). The sharia implementation demands not only emotional support of religiousness but also a sufficient approach to education and socialization.  (Yanlua, 2015). Regarding the implementation of sharia in Aceh, Aceh inevitably had a significant role as a role model, an area as a living-laboratory, which the model of implementation of sharia in plenary was formulated following modern society. Moreover, the implementation of sharia in Aceh had a role in the reconciliation of local conflict in Aceh (Fahadayna, 2018).
Related to the above arguments, as an autonomous regency in Aceh since 2000, Bireuen is significant to be studied since it is the first area that implements jinayat in Aceh. The legalization of Qanun Jinayat was established in Bireuen, and this regency had implemented it since December 2015; it was the first regency to implement the law (Serambinews, 2013). Meanwhile, the community of Santri Dayah (students of the Acehnese traditional Islamic educational institution) considered that the socialization of the implementation of Qanun Jinayat within the Bireuen regency was not sufficient. They believed that only a few people from the society understand it (Gade, 2015).

B. Method
This study was conducted as a qualitative study using a phenomenological study. The study was done emphasizing the basic principles The data were analyzed qualitatively by data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing by Miles and Huberman (1994). Each datum was associated with the research problem, so further analyses could be elaborated in the discussion by, of course, relating the relevant discourses. Ultimately, the method might reveal the current views of Bireuen communities regarding the Sharia implemented.

C. Result and Discussion 1. Result
The result here refers to the significant information retrieved from the informants selected. Each brief data, which is included and paraphrased, is then displayed to relate to the discussion. The informants' responses below display the matter of Islamic law implemented in Bireuen covering its formalization, qanun, authorization, penalty, and overall pros and cons.
In Aceh, the formalization of Islamic law in form of qanun covers both issues: religious and nonreligious issues Many sects on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) triggered the informants to share their opinions of the formalization of laws and codes. The following excerpt (E) figures the informants' statements. The authority then responded to their obstacles in implementing the Sharia.
E11: One of the major problems regarding the implementation of Islamic law is budgeting. Implementing and enforcing qanun jinayat requires a huge budget for arranging many relating programs. Nowadays, Dinas Syariat Islam of Bireuen has various programs as socialization of law, providing brochure, The further elaboration of the research findings is discussed in the next section, where the communities' responses related to the Islamic law are associated with its implication to the social condition of the locals.

a. The Communities' Responses toward the Implementation of Sharia
The perception of the Acehnese people about Islam has been passed through generations resulting in a noble way of thinking based on the Islamic tenets. This Islamic way of thinking, which is considered a cultural heritage for the Acehnese people, has a complex history. The era of kingdoms in Aceh is also related to the Islamic tenets and values. Then, such long history makes Islam has been internalized within the Acehnese people. It is a result of the long-term relationship between Islam and the Islamic scholars in Aceh consider Islamic laws, which is appeared in the form of the qanun, including qanun jinayat (Islamic criminal code), to be considered important to be formalized. Principally, the formalization is important to unite Muslims' perception as the informants proposed in E1, E3, and E4. The Islamic laws are based on Alquran and hadith, which tend to be universal. Then, ijtihad (a process of interpreting the universal law) from Islamic scholars is needed, and it becomes the foundation for the formalization of qanun. On the possibility of intervention in formalizing the qanun from an authority, Al-Syathibi (2003) explained that the formalization of Islamic law supported the implementation of it. Then, the existence of formalized qanun would overcome constraints regarding the implementation of sharia in Aceh regardless of the political conditions that occurred as the assumption of the informants in E6. This formalization may counter bad precedents of the people toward the government's capability in enforcing the law since many places are publicly known as the place where people violate the laws are still opened.
The legalization of Islamic law in form of qanun is a transformation of sharia. It is relevant with several scientific publications of many scholars on Islamic law as Musthafa al-Shiba'i in 1966, Tahir Mahmud in 1972and 1987, Muhammad Siraj in 1993, and Sudirman Tebba in 1993 all of them explained the tendency of transformation of Islamic law toward legal code (Basri, 2004). The formal form of Islamic law, referred to as qanun (canon), actually has various understandings, which correlate with the assertation of TTB in E5; Husein Nasr stated that it referred to human-made law regulating nonreligious issues, while Christianity referred to the canon as regulating both religious and nonreligious issues (Jazuni, 2005). In the end, the formalized Sharia has a firm foundation to regulate the communities' issues as mentioned by TNY in E2.
Furthermore, the process of formalizing the layer must be based on the law of hudud and ta'zir (settled punishment based on Islamic regulations) to prevent the authority used it only as a way to gain power.
Some communities still support the existence of qanun jinayat as SA revealed in E8. However, represented by TM in E7, the critique to evaluate the mechanism of the Sharia implementation managed by the Government of Aceh does not make qanun jinayat the rhetorical mean for political will. Also, the investigation upon cases relating to qanun jinayat has to be done by Wilayatul Hisbah (Islamic law enforcing police) since this institution is the most capable party within the formalization of Islamic law. If it is bestowed to any other institution, it will make corruption possible as delivered by JB in E9.
The authority of Islamic law, in the case of the Office of Islamic Law, indeed runs the program to educate people through various programs, such as arranging pengajian (Islamic lecturing and discussion). Many famous Islamic Scholars are involved within this program, such as Tengku Muhammad Yusuf, Tengku Muhammad Amin, and any other Islamic scholars within the area. This kind of program is to address related claims like JU admitted in E10. In addition, the socialization regarding qanun jinayat No. 7 of 2014 also has been done by the Office of Islamic Law to many areas within this regency. Indeed, almost every person agrees and supports this law, on the contrary, have scarcely they known about the regulations as shared by JU in E10. The communities still do not comprehend the entire content of the law. Thus, focusing on the socialization of the content of qanun jinayat is compulsory. The real goal of the Office of Islamic Law is not giving punishment, yet preventing people break the law. Several parties within society still consider Islamic law as strict and not suitable for society, even they claim that it may impede economic growth. Thus, coordination among relating parties is the key aspect to make the implementation successful. It can be examined that during the implementation of Islamic law in Bireuen, 9 cases had been settled, and 8 of them were maisir (gambling). Relating to the qanun jinayat, it is a progressive development taken by the government, thus, the Acehnese people have to support it. The support from the communities may ease and cope with the obstacles as told by KH in E11. The people's dissatisfaction with the implementation of Islamic law is not only on the policy but also on its enforcement in the real life. It decreased the public trust in government as illustrated by MU in E17. This suggests the same case as the communities' responses in West Aceh Regency  and the capital of Aceh Province, Banda Aceh (Manan, 2017;Manan, Gunawan, et al., 2020). The implementation had to refer back to the source of law in Islam to improve the implementation.
Aceh Province had no clear grand design to improve the life quality. The formalization of law, thus, is used by certain people for personal benefit. Actually, in formalizing certain laws, the government of Aceh has to consider the needs of people, socio-cultural aspects, as well as the historical aspect of the society. The formalization of Islamic law also has to consider the dynamic development of the society as reflected by IR in E18. The government only refers to the Alquran, hadith, and the thought of certain Islamic scholars, in this case, is Imam Syafii as the majority of the Acehnese people follow his school of thought. As society developed at a rapid rate within many sectors, the government needs to consider the thought of many other scholars upon formalization of the law.
Formalizing law upon education is also important even though qanun for the issue has been existing, yet it still is not comprehensive. KM agreed on this matter in his interview (E22). The formalization of law has to shape the Islamic educational system that leads to the social transformation toward better improvement. In addition, formalization of Islamic law is also required in the area of economy, banking, and clean government. Those formalizations are considered urgent to make enhancements within society in many aspects.
The implementation of Islamic law indeed still requires evaluation and improvements in many aspects. The most important thing is that people have to appreciate this law as well as supervise the implementation in the public area. If it is not, consequently, most of the violators committing prohibited actions as mentioned by MS in E20 admitted that they did not read the qanun yet. Such cases occurred not only due to the lack of socialization, but also the people were not aware of the law, as has been said by KH in E19 and AA in E21.
Equality before the law is the principle that must be considered in the implementation of Islamic law. Then, there is any negative stigma stating that the law is only strict for the poor people, it will be the failure of the government in enforcing the law. Debates and discussions regarding the law are common upon the implementation of certain laws for sake of improvement.
Aceh experienced severe states in which corruption occurred in many aspects, thus, the formalization of law upon this issue is urgent. As the formalization of law would base on Islamic law, it was expected that the people would feel guilty, as the majority of people in Aceh were Muslim.
By formalizing Islamic law as a legal code, Acehnese people do not only feel guilty of violating the law but also feel guilty as committing harmful actions forbidden in Islam. A detailed explanation about acts considered, as corruption was also required to prevent misinterpretation about the law.

b. Implications of the Sharia Implementation in Bireuen
Based on the perspectives of people living in Bireuen regarding the implementation of sharia, several important issues emerge. The first is reality laid upon the enforcement of the law. There are still tendencies of discrimination upon the enforcement. It was supported by the fact that in some cases of violation, the violators were set free because of their position in the government or society. Meanwhile, the law itself also has no certain regulation for those with special needs. In adjacent to this case, the people now seem unconvinced of the government upon the enforcement of sharia. As the result, many cases of violation were hot reported; the people, usual villagers, tended to settle it by the customary law, which in turn, could promote more discrimination for violators. The second is the ambiguity and uncertainty of several acts, mainly regarding the activities of khalwat (seclusion). There were ambiguities, which could trap people who did not mean to do or only seem violated the law. Such uncertainty and ambiguity were also worsened by the existence of controversial local acts, such as in Lhokseumawe, which stated that women should not stride while getting a ride on a motorcycle or even in Bireuen itself, there was an ambiguous local law preventing women from sitting in the same table with men, even in public cafes (Arief & Amri, 2018;Manan, 2014). The existences of such uncertain and ambiguous promote discrimination toward the fragile people, in this case, were women.
Regarding the legalization of Jinayat, the existing penalties, canning by rattan, also triggered controversies. Some questions emerged within society about the effectiveness of canning as punishment. In several cases, this punishment could not give a deterrent effect for violators; violators would do the violation after being canned. It was caused since after canning there was no detention, education, or similar programs, which made the violators regretting their faults. Hence, in several violation cases committed by non-Muslim, they even chose the canning as punishment even though they could choose the detention; they thought that canning would not take a long time, thus, they could easily free. The execution of canning also had polemics since it could be freely accessed by the children without any supervision. The acts of canning, in this case, even promote violence for children, which in fact, were not good for their mental development (Armia, 2020).
There is no adequate education and socialization given toward the enactment of sharia along with the canon of Jinayat. Yet, the government only focuses on patrols and sweeping toward the violators, which was not for the legalization of sharia itself. The purpose of the legalization of sharia is to establish a Madani (civilized) society by the Islamic tenets (Manan, Muhazar, et al., 2020). Hence, education and socialization were keys to building the self-esteem of people in obeying and performing Islamic tenets in their daily life. It is proven by the constant number of violations occurring, which indicated that people did not obey the sharia by their understanding and self-esteemed.
The existence of problems regarding the implementation of sharia requires strategic solutions from the government. Firstly, the implementation should focus on the aspect of education and socialization of the Islamic tenets toward the people to build their understanding and self-esteem in obeying and performing the Islamic tenets. Second, the enforcement of sharia must be carried under a clear and fair action. It means that every case of violation, despite the position of the violator in government and society, must be taken in fairness and justice. Here, the goodwill of the government is required to build the trust of the people. Third, co-operation with all media will be invaluable in socializing the introduction of sharia to the community. Amongst the modern communities, the role of mass media is indispensable in implementing programs like the implementation of the sharia in Ace. The communities do not know how far the progress of implementation of sharia had gone since it was not well documented nor publicized on the website (Manan, 2017). Then, the last there should be a supervising party, which represents the people to supervise and to evaluate the implementation and the enforcement of sharia. Such institution will be the controlling and the supervising party to ensure the implementation and enforcement of sharia that is conducted as it has to be.

D. Conclusion
The formalization and the implementation of Islamic law in Aceh was a pilot project for implementing legal codes in Indonesia. The implementation of this law recently is in the adaptation phase; thus, improvements and adjustments are required for better improvements. Evaluation toward the effectiveness is also needed to reveal the benefit for the people.
Nonetheless, there are several responses of people living in Bireuen regarding the implementation of those laws that can be concluded. In general, the people of Bireuen accept the implementation of sharia. Yet, several issues still emerge regarding it. The first laid on the mechanism of the supremacy of law. People criticized the enforcement, as the law seemed unimplemented The implementation of sharia in Aceh, although Islamic values had embedded within its society, still faced problems, particularly in the aspects of enforcement, socialization, and education. Thus, the improvement and focus regarding the implementation have to be done toward those two aspects. The education and socialization can be done adjacent to religion education at a formal or informal educational institution in Bireuen Regency.