Lianne Milton

More Photo Essays: Sharia Law in post-tsunami Aceh, Indonesia

Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Aceh, Indonesia, is also known as the “veranda to Mecca” – the place where Islam’s influence first entered Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world. 

Even before 2004’s devastating tsunami killed almost 160,000 people in the region, residents of Banda Aceh couldn’t say they knew what a “normal” life was like. For 30 years they’d lived with a civil war over natural resources in a politically unstable region as volatile as the earthquakes that haunt the country.  

Aceh is the only province in Indonesia that practices Sharia law. In 2009, Banda Aceh legalized the caning and stoning of adulterers, as well as the flogging of homosexuals. The provincial government created a special Sharia unit, the Wilayatul Hibah, to monitor non-Islamic conduct and dress by looking for Muslims drinking alcohol, gambling, unmarried couples sitting too close, prostitution, and women wearing non-Islamic attire. Although traditionally Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment, especially rape. Young adults who admit to having premarital sex are forced into marriage. 

Conservative Muslim clerics have taught that the great tsunami was punishment for people’s sins, but many Acehnese felt that the tsunami was a blessing that forced peace upon their land – though Sharia law has become stricter since that time. 

After the black waves of the tsunami destroyed much of the city, hundreds of international aid organizations rebuilt Banda Aceh, and the surrounding villages. They helped residents establish a new economy, with a renewed sense of peace and progress. And thanks to the 2005 Helsinki peace agreement between the Indonesian government and the rebel separatist army, the Free Aceh Movement, the people of Aceh can travel about freely in their own city, with the daily buzz of motorbikes and calls to prayer, and without the military checkpoints and political strife.  

Today, public canings at the mosques and vigilantism in villages are on the rise, as is the growing number of coffee shops – populated the youth and university students checking out their Facebook feeds – in the second-largest market behind the U.S. – and listening to live music, a first for Aceh. 

Although many Acehnese women embrace Sharia, they don’t agree with it. Dozens of women’s clothing stores that have opened since the tsunami, offering a colorful selection of veils and stylized Islamic tunics. My Acehnese women friends have confided, “There is Sharia – but at least there is no war.” 

The intention of my project is to document the crossroads of progress in the province of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, beyond the 2004 tsunami recovery and post-conflict life, with the growth of Islamic law in the region as its people seek to discover their provincial identity.  

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  • The Grand Mosque survived the 2005 tsunami but the adjacent building suffered major damages, at Pasar Aceh, or the Aceh Market, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 226,000 people throughout several countries. In Aceh, the death toll alone was 166,000. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
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  • Acehnese women walk along a new jetty created by the tsunami, in Ulele Beach, outside of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. Most families head to the beaches on Sundays. Although many Acehnese women embrace Sharia, they don’t agree with it. Dozens of women’s clothing stores that have opened since the tsunami, offering a colorful selection of veils and stylized Islamic tunics. As Acehnese women friends have confided, “There is Sharia – but at least there is no war.”
  • Fisherman unravel their nets after returning from work along Aceh River, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. Many fisherman lost families and their boats from the tsunami, but five years later, much of the industry and the fish market are back to the daily bustle. On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 226,000 people throughout several countries. In Aceh, the death toll alone was 166,000.
  • A woman sifts through dirt, pulling weeds in front of her new home which was built by the Irish Red Cross, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. Although Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment.
  • Sharia policewomen lecture university students on proper Muslim attire, in Ulele, Indonesia, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
  • Students walk past a veiled, caucasian looking mannequin in a market in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009. Since the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in Aceh, dozens of Muslim clothing shops opened in the markets and malls.
  • Around the Grand Mosque and Aceh Market, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia. Although many Acehnese women embrace Sharia, they don’t agree with it. Dozens of women’s clothing stores that have opened since the tsunami, offering a colorful selection of veils and stylized Islamic tunics. As Acehnese women friends have confided, “There is Sharia – but at least there is no war.”
  • Junior High and High School students study at the Islamic School, which offers both national and Islamic curriculum, in Banda Aceh, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia. Muslim attire is not just required to enter the mosques, but also in daily life. Although Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment.
  • The Indonesian military's special women's unit is the only unit for women in the military to wear fatigues in the country, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2010. They participate in search and rescue, women's issues, and trauma.
  • Former Army General Soenarko holds up a {quote}number one{quote} finger out the car window as he departs his post after a general handover event in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Nov. 20, 2009. Since the signing of Helsinki peace accord in 2005 that ended the longest conflict in Indonesia between the Free Aceh Movement and Indonesian government, the country has pulled out more then 20,000 troops from the province. The army base in Banda Aceh currently has about 15,000 soldiers.
  • Children run to a newly built mosque in their neighborhood, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. The neighborhood was devastated by the tsunami, killing most of the residents. Most of the homes here have been rebuilt by the Irish Red Cross. On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 226,000 people throughout several countries. In Aceh, the death toll alone was 166,000.
  • Youth hang out at the new garden park along the Aceh River, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009 In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia. Sharia law also prohibits men and women, who are not blood relatives or married to one another, from being together in an isolated place
  • Junior High and High School students study at the Islamic School, which offers both national and Islamic curriculum, in Banda Aceh, on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. Although Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment, especially rape. Young adults who admit to having premarital sex are forced into marriage.
  • Sharia Police, or the morality police, out on patrol along the jetty in Ulele, just outside of Banda Aceh, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. They look for young couples sitting too close together or wearing tight-fitting clothing not appropriate for life under Islamic Law. Banda Aceh enforces a moderate form of Islamic Law. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
  • Sharia policewomen detain a young woman after catching her without wearing a scarf, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Although Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment, especially rape. Young adults who admit to having premarital sex are forced into marriage.
  • Sharia Police, or the morality police, check out rooms in a brothel in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. Banda Aceh enforces a moderate form of Islamic Law.  In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.  Although Aceh is a matriarchal culture, women who break Sharia rules are often stigmatized, and often become objects of harassment, especially rape. Young adults who admit to having premarital sex are forced into marriage.
  • Sharia policemen line up for roll call before a weekly night patrol, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
  • A gatekeeper, of the Tsunami Museum, takes a peek out of portal window to the view below from the roof of the museum, which is now closed due to lack of funding, in Banda Aceh, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009. Beautification projects of the $7.2 million, four-storey, ship-shaped museum include finishing the rooftop with a grassy and cafe area where visitors can take in the view of the city and have lunch. On Dec. 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a massive tsunami that killed 226,000 people throughout several countries. In Aceh, the death toll alone was 166,000.
  • University students hang around the new jetty in Ulele, just outside of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. This road is also wear the Sharia Police patrol for young people breaking Islamic laws of sitting to close to the opposite sex, other then family, and wearing tight clothing or appropriate head scarves. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
  • University students hang around the new jetty in Ulele, just outside of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010. This road is also wear the Sharia Police patrol for young people breaking Islamic laws of sitting to close to the opposite sex, other then family, and wearing tight clothing or appropriate head scarves. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
  • Acehnese watch birds flock to the Grand Mosque near the Aceh Market, in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010. In 2003, the provincial government of Aceh Province implemented a moderate form of sharia law on conduct and dress in their effort to reclaim Aceh as the Islamic capital of SE Asia.
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