Publication

This report examines the practical problems that have developed as the Indonesian province Aceh has tried to enforce the first three Shari 'a regulations passed by the district government. It draws attention to the fact that the implementation of institutional frameworks to enforce the Islamic law has led to a power struggle with secular law enforcement and proliferated legal dualism. The report concludes that while Shari 'a officials in Aceh believe that strict enforcement will facilitate broader goals like peace, reconstruction and reconciliation, other dynamics show that the focus on morality seems to have become an end in itself.