Understanding the Role of Liberal Muslim Clerics in the Implementation of Sharia Law in Indonesia

This article explores the perspective of liberal Muslim clerics on the implementation of Sharia law in Indonesia. It discusses their beliefs and practices, as well as the challenges and controversies surrounding the implementation of Sharia law in the country. The article also examines the impact of Sharia law on various aspects of life, including women's rights, sexual orientation, and criminal justice. The subject of the article is international relations, and it does not mention any specific course code, course name, or college/university.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
International Relations
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
All religions are equal. It is believed strongly by all the mmuslim clerics in this saying.
They want the world to be a happy place. Being a Liberal Muslim Clerics, one is tolerant
towards all regions and believe that there are some or the other kinds of hardships still going on
around in different parts of the world. They embrace the Muslim religion but they are also of a
very open-minded and try to keep a modern and liberal approach. As they are living in South
East Asia they can very well see the atrocities that are being caused to people after the
implementation of the Sharia law. A competitive democracy is something that allows all the
individuals to use their voting rights freely. All the individuals will be given equal rights
irrespective of their caste, social status, and religion. Indonesia has been chosen because there
are still issues existing about the inclusion of the Islamic people in the process of voting. Many
people were not registered as voters and so they could not vote. Many are of the opinion that
Islam is no longer a major significant force in Indoneisa. The politics is really becoming very
narrow. Many people fear that Muslims will become a minority. As a result of this the Sariah law
has been adopted that will safeguard the interests of muslim people.
Many clerics are a believer of the Sharia law but at the same time, they believe that the
major concern of all religion including the Sharia Islamic religion must be to be compassionate
towards people and promote equal rights for them (Hegland 2018). As the very beginning lines
of the every Surah In the Quran, begins with the words in the name of the most merciful and the
most compassionate, then It is my duty as a progressive or as a liberal Muslim to inculcate those
qualities within myself and all the other fellow mates of my religion.
Many liberal Muslim clerics are a follower of Sharia law like many others as there are
some really very good aspects. The basic problem lies in the fact that people are not usually well
acquainted with the exact tenets of the religious order and start using it in the wrong way. Sharia

3INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
is a code of conduct that dictates the lives of each and every individual of the Islamic religion. It
starts from how the Muslims must dress, how they must act in public and also in private. It also
dictates the ways they interact with their friends and their colleagues. It governs the eating,
dressing, fasting, praying and all the other normal activities of their lives. This religious order
believes that each and every individual must lead their lives at every step by devoting themselves
to the Almighty God or Allah. They embrace Sharia as it is a good and liberal, justified religious
order. Being a Muslim cleric, they have studied the Sharia law in details and know what it
actually means. Sharia is an Arabic word that implies a route to be followed and it is a road that
leads to water. As water is the sustenance of life so Sharia is a particular road that will lead
people to God. It is a purely religious path of making man attain Godliness (Müller 2016). Water
is one of the basic necessities of human life and so is the blessing of Allah. It basically signifies
the Halakhah, which is a path which is a path that one walks. Being a religious leader they
always try to practice what they preach. They want the Sharia followers to know the actual
meaning of this religious order and then try to follow them accordingly. They believe that it is
essential for all the Muslims to follow this particular religious order as it dictates the overall
routine of the life of the individuals (Griffith News 2018).
One of the most important and the foremost things that the liberal muslim clerics follow are the
five basic things of life that Sharia law mainly aims at protecting. They are life, honor, learning,
property, and family. It is the act of saving and guarding these activities will surely require some
strict laws that need to be followed.
Many Muslim clerics have witnessed that some places in South East Asia have started
following the Sharia law. One such province is Aceh. In Aceh, it was implemented in three
phases. The first phase mainly tried imposing laws like paying fines and penalties for not

4INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
following the Ramadan, the regular visit to Mosques, their prayers. The second phase had
continued with the same and the third phase mainly talked about applying death penalties to
those who were convicted of crimes like homosexuality, sex outside marriage, rape and other
such cases. So, being Muslim clerics, one with liberal bent of mind had to be a part of the group
that was helping in spreading these Sharia principles but they did snot somehow like some of
these principles. As the muslim clerics are of a liberal and open mindset they cannot really
withstand seeing the rights and the freedom of people being curbed only by the false name of
religion (Rabasa 2014). Religion does not say that man has to be tied in chains. Religion must
not really dictate on whom a person must love or marry. There are decisions that people must
always be free to make on their own. As per this Sharia law, there has to be a strict ban on the
drinking of alcohol. Strict punishments are to be given to people who consume alcohol.
However, this must not be the case (Theaustralian.com.au 2018). Drinking alcohol has now
become a part of life. People living in the 21st century have to live their lives as per the modern
and accepted standards of living. Religion must not really interfere in the personal lives of the
people. People often drink alcohol due to some sort of refreshments. Unless they are getting
drunk to extreme levels, there must not be any ban or any restrictions on consumption of alcohol.
There can, however, be some punishments for those people who get drunk to extreme limits and
lose their self-control. If there are cases where people have committed crimes like hitting each
other or abusing people after getting drunk then there have to be some of the other penalties
imposed on those people. There has been a situation where some people were sentenced to jail
and also to whipping with lashes after they were found guilty of drinking alcohol. Sentencing
people to jail for consumption of alcohol must not be the case. It has been reported that after the
Sharia law was imposed in Aceh, fifteen men were beaten up mercilessly in front of a mosque

5INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
for gambling (Church 2017). This is something that many liberal clerics could not really agree
with. Being a clerical do not entertain the act of gambling but beating people so mercilessly in
public front is not the best solution always. Liberal Muslim clerics think that people who have a
habit of gambling must be arrested by the police and then they should be explained that they
must not carry on this act of gambling. His only lead them to ruin. We have to remember that
Sharia wants to govern the lives of Muslims so that they lead an organized life and they can
slowly reach God through their activities. So, if they are beaten up in an open place in front of all
people, then this might hurt their self-respect and might also enrage them. Rather than checking
themselves from this activity of gambling, they might retire it even more. There are cases where
a person who was convicted of gambling was sentenced to a punishment of getting 80 strokes as
a punishment. Apart from this Sharia law is often harsh on women than men. So, Muslim clerics
believe that there has to be a constitution that will be able to amalgamate the Sharia law and the
democratic rights of individuals in a way that would be very beneficial for all people. So, there
have to be some tenets that will not breed violence but justice (Miaari et al. 2018).
People found drinking in any social gatherings or in any official friendly outing must not
be subjected to harsh extreme punishments like getting beaten up publically. Punishments are to
be used only when people drink in uncontrollable amounts and behave in an insane manner that
harms the social decorum. People drinking in and around the drinking prohibited areas like
mosques, schools, and the localities must be subjected to punishments. However, the nature of
the punishments must not be too harsh. There can be some monetary penalties or fines. In
extreme cases, those found guilty can be imprisoned for a certain time period (Ethier 2016).
However the motif the law is good it thinks that alcohol drinking has to be banned so that people

6INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
can abstain from all sorts of addictions and stay fit and healthy. The method of implementing this
law has to be good and in a proper manner.
Sharia law must be implemented to protect women from all minds of harms and not for
bounding them in chains. They must not be kept confined within their houses. They must be
given proper rights to study and to choose their dresses and their life partners as per their choice.
So, women must not be arrested for wearing trousers in place of hijabs. There must surely be this
rule that women will be wearing hijabs while they are going to any religious ceremonies.
However, there must be no strict rules imposed on them to wear some particular kinds of clothes
that are accepted by the religion or by the Sharia society. There have been many instances where
Sharia law said that a man can keep multiple wives but a woman has to lead a very organized
and strict life with only one husband, even if they know that the husband is dishonest and is
torturing them. The law must be flexible enough for the women as well. There must be this
flexibility allowed for both the husband and the wife to get a divorce from each other and
remarry the partners of their choice (Means 2017). There must be laws implemented for men
who think that their wives are their properties and they can handle their wives just the way they
want. There have to be laws against the domestic violence. Husband trying to follow polygamy
have to be punished and they are to abide by the code of law. They are to be sentenced to life
imprisonment or they will have to pay the lifelong expenses of all the women that he has
married. He can keep only one wife at a time and has to follow the legal procedure for a divorce.
Extramarital affairs cannot be entertained. If one partner registers a complaint against the other,
the police have to investigate the matter and then make sure that the one who wants to come out
of the marriage has a valid reason for it. If the husband enters into any extramarital affairs by
ditching his wife he has to pay a huge sum of money as a penalty and also has to make sure that

7INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
they are paying the ransom or the security money that the wife claims. He also has to pay for the
educational and other expenses of his children if any (ucanews.com 2018).
Sharia law cannot dictate the sex life or the conjugal life of people. Aceh are free countries and
people must be able to lead their lives as free and independent individuals. However, there had to
be a law regarding the minimum age bar for both a girl and a boy getting married. They can get
married and lead a normal conjugal life after becoming adults and after reaching a certain age.
However, if some teenagers are caught having some intimate moments with their partners in any
closed rooms, they must not be subjected to extreme punishments like lashes or whipping in
public. However, they must be taken under arrest and explained this entire matter by any adult
members with patience. They must be dealt with care and understanding and not by physical
violence (HuffPost India 2018). However this ban on engaging into sexual intercourse is also
required in some places because the adolescent individuals are often very desperate and they lack
the quality of judging skeptically what is wrong or what is right for them. So, if there is a strict
law then they will be checked from committing any blunders at an early age.
Homosexuality has to be recognized by Sharia law. It must not be seen as a crime. If
Sharia is aimed at uniting man with God then, man cannot be tortured because of his sexual
orientation. If a man has been created by God or Allah, then sexual orientation is also something
that has been made by God. If people are not blind towards science and biology then they must at
least keep faith in God and believe that homosexual people are normal human beings just like all
others. Staying with a partner of the same sex does not make a person a criminal. Crimes like
rape and murder must be treated very carefully. If the victim is killed in this act then the guilty

8INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
must be subjected to a dealt penalty. No one has the right to hurt and kill other lives that have
been created by God (Acharya 2014).
Theft is also a crime and needs to be checked at the root levels itself. However, there has
to be a proper investigation. Shariah law sees theft as a serious crime and dictates huge
punishment for the same. This is indeed a good practice because theft makes people lazy and
people actually develop into serious murderers and criminals from small crimes like theft. If it is
not checked strictly right at the grassroots level, then people will not fear the law and will freely
continue committing such crimes.
A child might be very poor and hungry for days. So, he might steal food from a shop. In
such cases, he must not be whipped publically. People must show affection and not anger. That
child must be given food immediately and must be taken proper care of. However, if some young
boys are stealing money or jewelry from any houses or from passengers on street, then they must
be arrested and sentenced to imprisonment. There must be a proper trial for each and every case
(Ethier 2016).
Thereby, It is believed that the Sharia law is good and has a positive motif. It mainly tries
to make man lead a healthy life free of all sins. This law wants man to abide by the rules that
would prevent him from going onto any wrong paths like that of addiction and theft. However
the methods of implementing the laws have to be changed. People must be given a free and
healthy life. They must be made to abide by the laws through a changed vision and affection and
not violence. It has to be implemented in such a way that the democratic rights and the freedom
of people are not hindered. This law must promote the freedom and the equal rights for people
rather than tying them in chains.

9INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

10INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
References
Acharya, A., 2014. Constructing a security community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the
problem of regional order. Routledge.
Americanthinker.com. 2018. Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies. [online]
Available at:
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2005/08/top_ten_reasons_why_sharia_is.html
[Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].
Chin, J., 2016. Malaysia: Heading for Sharia Domination?. The Round Table, 105(6), pp.737-
739.
Church, P., 2017. A short history of South-East Asia. John Wiley & Sons.
Ethier, D. ed., 2016. Democratic Transition and Consolidation in Southern Europe, Latin
America and Southeast Asia. Springer.
Formichi, C. and Feener, R.M. eds., 2015. Shiʻism in Southeast Asia: ʻAlid Piety and
Sectarian Constructions. Oxford University Press.
Griffith News. 2018. The troubling reality of Southeast Asia’s ‘democratic recession’.
[online] Available at: https://app.secure.griffith.edu.au/news/2017/12/07/the-troubling-
reality-of-southeast-asias-democratic-recession/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].
Hegland, M.E., 2018. Gender and religion in the Middle East and South Asia: Women’s
voices rising. In A social History of Women and Gender in the Modern Middle East (pp. 177-
212). Routledge.

11INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
HuffPost India. 2018. 5 Things You Need To Know About Sharia Law. [online] Available at:
https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/5-facts-you-need-to-know-about-sharia-
law_us_5788f567e4b03fc3ee507c01 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].
McGee, R.W., 2016. Do Views toward Homosexuality Differ based on Income Level? An
Empirical Study of United States Opinion.
Means, G.P., 2017. The role of Islam in the political development of Malaysia. In Religions
and Missionaries around the Pacific, 1500–1900 (pp. 11-31). Routledge.
Metcalf, B.D., 2016. Islam in contemporary Southeast Asia: history, community,
morality. Defining Islam: A Reader.
Miaari, S., Khattab, N. and Johnston, R., 2018. Religion and ethnicity at work: a study of
British Muslim women’s labour market performance. Quality & Quantity, pp.1-29.
Müller, D.M., 2016. Paradoxical normativities in Acehi Darussalam and Malaysia: Islamic
law and the ASEAN human rights declaration. Asian Survey, 56(3), pp.415-441.
Rabasa, A., 2014. Political Islam in Southeast Asia: Moderates, Radical and Terrorists (No.
358). Routledge.
Theaustralian.com.au. 2018. Subscribe to The Australian | Newspaper home delivery,
website, iPad, iPhone & Android apps. [online] Available at:
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/what-exactly-is-sharia-law/news-story/
4e3c627f248841b46d465b4c79dec59a [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].

12INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
ucanews.com. 2018. Where is Shariah law enforced in Southeast Asia? - ucanews.com.
[online] Available at: https://www.ucanews.com/news/where-is-shariah-law-enforced-in-
southeast-asia/77399 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].