POLITICAL ISLAM -- THE RISE AND FALL OF SHARI'A?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003325

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, INR/EAP, USAID FOR
ANE/EAA, DRL, DRL/AWHA
EAP FOR EPHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM SOCI KISL ID
SUBJECT: POLITICAL ISLAM -- THE RISE AND FALL OF SHARI'A?

REF: JAKARTA 1306

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b-d).


1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate Medan.


2. (C) SUMMARY: The number of new Islamically-inspired laws
being put on the books by Indonesian municipalities has
declined sharply over the past two years. During a visit to
key sites in Sumatra, poloffs discussed the situation with
observers, who expressed a real ambivalence about the wisdom
of politicizing religion, a view which has apparently
contributed to the reduction in the promulgation of new laws.
Moreover, other, religiously-neutral means of governance of
a pluralistic, complex country are increasingly seen by many
as preferable to hard-line interpretations of Shari'a and the
divisiveness those can spark. END SUMMARY.

BY THE NUMBERS


3. (C) On a November 26-29 visit, poloffs examined obstacles
to Shari'a (Islamic law) implementation on the island of
Sumatra, home to over 50 million people. In recent years,
local by-laws based on Islamic law have been implemented in
several Indonesian provinces, including Aceh and West Sumatra
(ref A). A wide range of Muslim leaders continue to advocate
further implementation. Nevertheless, recent research by
Robin Bush, Deputy Country Director of U.S. NGO The Asia
Foundation (TAF),indicated that the growth of Shari'a
by-laws in Indonesia has declined sharply over the past two
years. According to Bush, no new Shari'a regulations passed
in 2007 and only four such by-laws passed in 2006, down from
a peak of 23 in 2003 and 15 in 2004. In sum, at least 78
Shari'a-inspired laws have passed into law in Indonesia, some
linked to general morality including alcohol, gambling and
prostitution.

THE RISE AND FALL OF SHARI'A?


4. (C) The initial rise of Sharia by-laws in the years after
the 1998 fall of Suharto coincided with Indonesia's political
decentralization--and a lack of capacity in local governments
to address social problems. "This is not Islamization so
much as not knowing how else to cope with social problems,"
TAF Indonesia Director Douglas Ramage told Dep Pol/C.
According to John Brownlee, TAF's Islam and Development
officer, politicians understandably promoted Shari'a in areas
with a historically strong Islamic identity such as Aceh and
South Sulawesi. "In areas that have a strong Islamic
identity, it would seem natural as a politician to play on
that identity, to use it to your advantage, to use Shari'a to
get more votes," he said.


5. (C) Shari'a law promulgation has decreased in recent
years, however, because constituents and politicians have
found that implementaton can be difficult, costly and
controversial, according to Brownlee. In some cases, mass
protests against previously passed Shari'a by-laws have
caused some such laws to be repealed by municipalities.
Nonetheless, Shari'a laws are an existing part of Indonesia's
political fabric. Any approach to improve governance must
address these political Islamic elements. TAF, for its part,
is trying to improve the capacity of local governments to
address social issues through good governance, for example,
with training in sound budgeting or teaching Muslim
organizations how they can help local government to govern
better. In Aceh, for example, TAF has trained the vast
majority of religious court judges on using Shari'a laws to
deal with modern issues in a democratic context. Courses on
gender and theology and violence against women provide tools
for Shari'a courts and support local governance.

EXAMPLE A: ACEH


6. (C) Poloffs visited three key regions--Aceh, North
Sumatra, Riau--to get a take on perspectives on Islamic law.
Poloffs found that Shari'a implementation in Aceh is not
wholly popular. Interlocutors describe Shari'a as the "third
rail" of local politics. While there are mixed views about

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the wisdom of politicizing Shari'a, most observers agree it
is risky for politicians to roll back existing Shari'a
regulations given support for them from conservative
elements. That said, Shari'a has its critics.


7. (C) According to one of his close advisors, Governor
Yusuf Irwandi, a former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leader,
strongly disagrees with Shari'a implementation, but is
unwilling to go on record as being critical. Alamsyah
Hamdani, a former GAM attorney, said Irwandi's strategy is to
avoid giving public support to any new laws against alcohol
consumption, gambling, and "khawlat" (the close proximity of
unmarried people). The head of Aceh's Shari'a court,
however, which has handled about 230 such cases since 2005,
told poloffs that Irwandi has been fully supportive of
Shari'a implementation. Aguswandi of the nascent Aceh
People's Party said his party platform will openly oppose
Shari'a in the 2009 general election.


8. (C) In one of Indonesia's traditionally most "pious"
provinces, support for the concept of Shari'a is widespread,
but poloffs encountered strong debate over how it should be
carried out. Some interlocutors commented that Aceh has
always been extremely religiously observant and has no need
for reminders about proper Islamic behavior. Others defended
the effectiveness of publicly "shaming" violators. Local
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) leader Ghufron Harun said the
debate falls along generational lines with elders who
strongly support Islamic codes and the younger generation,
who still are not fully convinced of the benefits of Shari'a.

EXAMPLE B: NORTH SUMATRA


9. (C) Islamic law has not picked up much traction in North
Sumatra. Islamic scholars in Medan explained that Shari'a
provisions can be more easily adopted in provinces like Aceh
and West Sumatra, which have more homogeneous communities
with a vast majority of Muslims. North Sumatra, however, is
very heterogeneous with large Christian Batak, ethnic
Chinese, and other non-Muslim groups who unite with liberal
Muslims to oppose Shari'a.

EXAMPLE C: RIAU


10. (C) In Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province,
diversity within the Muslim community has also served to
moderate Shari'a implementation. The Muslim community
consists of a mix of ethnic Javanese, Batak, Malay, and
Minang, making it difficult to achieve consensus on what type
of Shari'a is appropriate for the province. The city has one
anti-gambling regulation on the books, but it is not labeled
as a Shari'a by-law, nor is there any push for Shari'a
implementation. According to the Singaporean Consulate
General in Pekanbaru, Raj Kumar Singh, the local police have
worked closely with mainstream Muslim organizations and
government officials in the provinces, for example, in
handling the growth of deviant sects or enforcing Ramadan
closures, thus defusing potential pressure for stricter
Islamic laws.

WAY FORWARD


11. (C) In pluralistic Indonesia, Shari'a law in some ways
represents an attempt to return to traditional religious
values to cope with the challenges of modernization. It has
also been a tool for local governments to exert control in an
era of recent political decentralization. As the nation's
political institutions mature, Shari'a seems at this point to
be losing some steam to more effective means of addressing
these issues. A key way for moderates to counter
undemocratic, intrusive forms of implementing Shari'a seems
to be--in a religiously neutral fashion--to help government
and society develop better means of governance.

HUME