ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the Perda Syari'at movements in Aceh and West Sumatra; the strategies used by local authorities to introduce them; and how they have been enforced. It examines how society understands Perda Syari'at and whether Perda Syari'at have, in fact, been successful in addressing the socio-religious problems they were intended to resolve. The local government quickly established several government institutions to implement shari'a, including the Wilayatul Hisbah or shari'a police; the Kantor Dinas Syariat Islam or Office of Islamic Shari'a; and the Majelis Permusyawaratan Ulama or Ulama Deliberative Council. Interestingly, in post-Independence Indonesia, Minangkabau remain well known as pious Muslims but their political aspirations have not always been channelled through Islamic political parties. In West Sumatra, academics at Institute Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Imam Bonjol argued that the introduction of Perda Syari'at in West Sumatra is essentially political and does not reflect real community needs.
