More Canings in Aceh...

Being a Muslim and living in Aceh means that you live under the tenets of Sharia Law. You can either like it or leave it. Leave it means literally leaving and moving to a province that has yet to implement the Sharia code.

I am not Muslim, so as far as I can tell the law does not apply to me. This means that there is a dual standard of law enforcement in Aceh; one for Muslims and one for non-Muslims. However, Muslims do not get the option of choosing which law they wish to live under. By default as a consequence of opting for the type of regional autonomy they have, they have opted to live under Sharia Law. That is the nature of the democracy they have chosen.

This is a story of two young women eking out a living running a roadside food stall. Murni and Rukiah, 27 and 22 respectively, were caught selling cooked rice during daylight hours during Ramadan (the fasting month). This led to them being arrested, charged, convicted, and ultimately to this day where they were to be caned; three strokes and two strokes respectively.

This is what happens in Greater Aceh (Aceh Besar). So, on Friday, just after the completion of Friday prayers, Murni and Rukiah made their way solemnly to the caning platform outside the Al-Munawwarah Mosque in Jantho to receive their punishment. Interestingly, or perhaps not so interesting, is that caning is very much a bloodsport. It draws big crowds. Perhaps this says something about us as human beings that we do not mind taking time out to watch other people's sufferings. It reminds me not only of hangings in the movies about the wild west that I used to watch as a kid, but also the way that people slow down as they drive past an accident.

Selling food during Ramadan is a clear breach of the provisions of Regional Regulation (Qanun) No. 11 of 2002. The punishment for selling food attracts a maximum punishment of six lashes of the cane. There are also financial penalties and jail time if the court so decides to impose those sentences. Essentially, the Qanun says that Muslims cannot sell food to other Muslims who should be fasting.

This is problematic on a number of levels that you have to regulate the way people practice their faith with national or domestic laws. I always figured that God's law was somewhat higher than the laws of men and women. I also have a problem with men and women imposing the laws of God. Now, if God made these laws then she (or he) must be responsible for the enforcement of those laws. After all, that is the purpose of the judgment day, right? God sits in judgment of each and every one of us for the sins we have committed against her and then decides which journey we make.

If my understanding is correct, then where do men in robes sitting in supposed religious courts get off meting out the punishment of God on his fellow servants?

I would also add, if a sin was committed here it was not in the selling of the rice but in the purchasing and eating of it. The women were not committing any crime from cooking in daylight hours or even selling food in daylight hours. I wonder if the Qanun requires that Muslims selling food during Ramadan are required to ask for and see the ID cards of all people who buy food from them?

But, to finish, I return to an earlier point, the sins of men and women against their respective Gods is a sin between them and their God, particularly when it relates to selling or eating food. We are not talking about a murder or a rape or even corruption on a grand scale, we are talking about a few scoops of rice. If I am not mistaken the Koran makes some exceptions with respect to fasting, including those that cannot fast being able to make that day up somewhere else (I suspect my Muslim readers will be setting me straight on this perception).

Maybe, I just do not see caning as a meaningful deterrent in any case, just like the death penalty is no deterrent to serious crime. Or maybe I really cannot get my head around why in a country like Indonesia one would want to cane another for selling food, even during Ramadan.

Shariah Law in Aceh, Indonesia...

This post deserves much more than what it is about to get!

I make it only to highlight a few things that are percolating in the grey matter inside my skull. If I had more time, then I probably would delve more deeply into the legal realm and analyse the implications of allowing Shariah law to be implemented in a secular state, even one with a large majority of Muslims as resident citizens.

Sometimes, I miss not having more time to write about the laws of Indonesia.

The photo attached here made me chuckle, I apologise if this seems flippant as caning generally does not lend itself to flippancy. Yet, check out the garb of the caner. It reminds me of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I think it is the white stripe that cuts across the eyes in what is an otherwise all black ensemble befitting of an executioner.

The idea that Aceh has a right to implement Shariah law because it is "more" Muslim, in a devout sense, than the rest of Indonesia is absurd. It is also offensive to Muslims residing in other parts of the archipelago that the government does not think them Muslim enough to force Shariah upon them as well. This raises an important question, one that gets bandied around every now and then, but never really answered: "do the Acehnese really want Shariah law?"

There has always been this public spin machine that played up the idea that Aceh was so much more devoutly Muslim than anywhere else, so this must mean they want Shariah. After all, what "good" Muslim would not want it? Yet, it has never really been clear whether the people of Aceh wanted Shariah or just to be free from the interference and oppression of the Indonesian state. My guess would be that there are still plenty of Acehnese who would gladly trade Shariah law for some real "autonomy" from Jakarta (aka Indonesia) and even freedom in the form of independence.

Having a quick squiz at the legal foundations from Shariah law in Aceh. It is interesting that the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia, and the five guiding principles encapsulated in Pancasila, make it pretty clear that Indonesia is a secular state. In the most simple terms, there is no preference to be afforded to one religion in preference to another. Or, all people are allowed to practice their faith according to the tenets of that faith (except of course if you belong to the Ahmadiyya sect).

The first steps towards Shariah occurred in 1999 with Aceh being given super special status, and presumably the 'right' to implement Shariah Law. In an attempt to clarify what that meant, the government stipulated some more basic terms as to how autonomy would work. The clarifications, in essence, allowed the locally elected government of Aceh to start the Shariah-nization of Aceh by establishing Shariah Laws (Regional Regulations known as Qanun) and Shariah Courts to hear cases that involved the breach of those laws.

This is problematic for a number of reasons. However, most important is that the implementation of Shariah Law in Aceh creates a two-tiered legal system where Muslims and non-Muslims are treated differently. This, above all else, means that the laws discriminate against some Indonesian citizens. The Constitution clearly prohibits this from happening. In many ways, the provisions of the Constitution are crafted to provide equal protection for all citizens. Simply, being Muslim should not expose you to harsher penalties than are otherwise available to non-Muslim Indonesian citizens.

Nevertheless, the granting of special autonomy in Aceh with the ability to ram through local regulations on Shariah has emboldened other less special provinces to embark on the Shariah-nization of their respective regions through the implementation of Shariah laws. Some have argued that this is Islamisation or the Wahabbi-nisation of Indonesia by stealth. I would argue that there is nothing stealthy about it. In fact, it is overt rather than covert, and politicians seem to think that the Shariah-nization of their regions is a real vote getter. After all, good Muslim politicians do not want to be viewed as being insufficiently devout, and what could be more devout than arguing for the stoning of adulterers and the cutting off of the hands of thieves, right?

The logic is all wrong.

Anyways, enough of the ranting and railing...back to work, there are assessment tasks due!

Canings in Aceh...

There is a need to respect the laws of any place you live or visit, but there are those times when one wonders whether the laws in question have earned the right to demand the sort of respect that they do. That said, Aceh's Sharia Police have caned a few people of late for the 'crimes' of adultery and gambling.

The idea that these two particular activities are crimes in the human realm is indicative of our over-zealousness to do God's work. For the true believers, it would seem that you do not trust God to do that which God does, punish those who sin against him (or her) by breaking the rules. In any event, they are God's rules so perhaps God should also be responsible for meting out the punishment.

The idea of a public caning always reminds me of going to the movies when I was a kid and watching a western. In particular, the ones where there is a public hanging, which in turn draws big crowds of onlookers. I have never really since the spectacle value of public executions or in this case canings. I have always wondered, but never enough to do a psychology degree, whether this was just a simple case of blood-thirstiness with the prospect of watching someone die or be physically beaten to a bloody mess. Maybe that can be my next course of study.

Nevertheless, canings in Aceh are reportedly to be more about public humiliation than they are about inflicting pain. Supporters of caning argue that there is a huge deterrent effect because of the physical nature of the punishment. Yet, the reality is there are very strict rules in place for where men and women can be caned with respect to body parts and how hard these lashes can be. Truth be told, when I was in high school, corporal punishment was still an available option for teachers to control unruly students (or those who were too big a smart arses for their own good, like me). So, I am thinking with the cane in the "right" person's hand, some serious pain and physical damage can be inflicted.

The adulterers each received eight strokes of the best from the cane master (or is that cane master lash?). The maximum penalty under the relevant Qanun, No. 14 of 2003, as I recall is nine strokes. There is also a minimum of three. So, I guess the offence was at the top end of the scale but it was not the most serious form of adulterous behaviour.

The gamblers received eight and seven lashes of the cane respectively. Interestingly, this means that gambling and adultery are pretty much on the same seriousness level in this case. These gentlemen were in breach of the provisions of Qanun No. 13 of 2003.

These canings follow a series of canings that took place in June. It would seem that the Acehnese authorities are ratcheting up the caning activities in the lead up to Ramadan.

One final point, if it was me about to be caned and I was walking up to the public caning platform in order to receive my punishment for whatever it is that I had been sentenced for, I would not know whether to laugh or cry having had a look at the fashion sense of the executioner! There seriously must be potential for the launch of a whole "executioner" line of tailored fashions.

Ho hum...

Stoning for Adultery -- Aceh Stepping Back In Time...

This is one of those moments where you shake your head, and fear for the future of Indonesia, all the while thinking, why? I have been thinking about writing this post for a while, but have held off to see whether the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRA) would push this piece of legislation through before the term of the current legislature ends. I am not surprised that it passed, but it does pose some interesting issues going forward. I am also writing this post now because I have a copy of the Qanun and have taken the time to read it.

The DPRA passed the Qanun (Regional Regulation) on Jinayat (Crimes). Regional autonomy provides that regions can have more control over the regulation of their own affairs, and this includes the passage of regulations. In Aceh, this includes specific provisions that recognize the predominantly Muslim nature of Aceh. So, the drafting, enactment, and implementation of Syariah based regulations was not only contemplated but expected in the case of Aceh.

The Qanun is a perfection of a number of other previously issued Qanun (Nos. 12, 13, and 14 of 2003) and relies on Law No. 44 of 1999 on the Administration of the Special Province of Aceh and Law No. 11 of 2006 on the Governance of Aceh to provide the legal foundation for the drafting, enactment, and implementation of Syariah law in Aceh.

Interestingly, in the"In View Of ..." section of the Qanun, which generally lists the laws in hierarchical form, the Al-Quran (Koran) and the Al-Hadits (Hadiths) appear before the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and all subsequent legislation. This is interesting because it suggests that "God's Law" is superior to all "man-made law" (for want of a gender neutral term).

Stoning is not a punishment recognized in Indonesian law. In fact, it would not be too difficult to make an argument for stoning to be a cruel and unusual punishment that is also in every sense inhuman and degrading. And, consequently, clearly contrary to several constitutional rights guaranteed to all Indonesian citizens, particularly Article 28(I).

Yet, it is worth noting that caning is also not a punishment recognized in Indonesian law, but remains on the statute books in Aceh. So, it remains to be seen who will make a constitutional challenge to the stoning provision (at the moment there seems to be plenty of punters willing to step up and take the challenge).

My view is that it might not even have to go to the Constitutional Court. It is possible that this Qanun breaches the requirements of legislation higher in the hierarchy of laws. It would also seemingly breach a number of international obligations that Indonesia has signed on to. This would conceivably allow the Minister of Home Affairs to question the validity of the Qanun and any subsequent implementation, and ultimately this process would lead to the Qanun being declared unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat / DPR) could also be more proactive in seeking to overturn this legislation as it would clearly suggest that a Qanun such as this one leads to a two-tiered justice system that discriminates against the followers of a certain faith.

Stoning is the sentence for those that knowingly commit adultery. However, this only applies to those who are married and knowingly commit this offense. For those that are unmarried, the punishment is up to 100 lashings with a cane. One of the accepted forms of evidence of adultery is a sworn oath that requires the oath maker to acknowledge that if they lie they will be damned in both this life and the afterlife. I am guessing this is meant to dissuade the aggrieved party from telling fibs. If you are a Muslim and not particularly devout then this might not be a consideration for you.

Funnily enough, not that there is anything funny about this Qanun, a woman who is pregnant outside of wedlock cannot be accused of adultery without sufficient evidence of her crime. Now, I would have thought aside from the immaculate conception that the chances of a woman outside of wedlock being pregnant would be pretty remote. I am obviously excluding cases where the woman has been raped from this scenario.

The Qanun also deals with rape. Rape includes anal and oral sex. However, somewhat disturbingly the definition implies that rape cannot occur between a husband and a wife. So, if you are married then "no" means "yes".

The other interesting aspect of this Qanun is that it provides for criminal fines to be paid in grams of pure gold. For example, if you get caught in the act of Liwath or Musahaqah, then the penalty is 100 lashes of the cane and a fine of 1000 grams of pure gold or 100 months in jail. It is a bit of a decision as to whether you want to part with the 1000 grams of gold or do the 100 months.

If one was thinking that this Qanun is the imposition of Syariah law and therefore only applies to Muslims living in Aceh, then you would be wrong. The Qanun definitely applies to all Muslims without exception. The Qanun also applies to any non-Muslim who commits an offense in concert with a Muslim, although this would seemingly require the non-Muslim part to acknowledge and choose to be tried under the provisions of this Qanun. The Qanun also applies to any non-Muslim who commits an offense under the provisions of this Qanun and where the offense is not explicitly regulated in the Indonesian Criminal Code.

The defense of the provisions are that they reflect what is contained in the Koran and the Hadiths, and thus are essentially the words of God and agreed recollections of the sayings of the Prophet. Simply, they cannot be changed or amended. In many senses, this is a step back in time to the time of 7th Century Saudi Arabia and one has to wonder what the relevance of those times are to 21st Century Aceh and more generally, Indonesia.

Hopefully, the incoming DPRA will see the error of the ways of the current DPRA and repeal this Qanun of their own accord.