FROM POWER TO CULTURAL LANDSCAPES Rewriting History of Shi ‘ ah in Aceh

This article aims to re-examine the history of Shi‘ah in Aceh by looking at the influence of Persian in Acehnese political and cultural landscapes of the society. There have been many studies on presence of Shi‘ah in Aceh by local, national, and international scholars. However, there is still gap among scholars about the coming of Shi‘ah and it influence in the province, due to the influence of Persian traditions. Through socio-historical and socio-anthropological approaches, this study describes the roots and influence of Persian in history of Aceh. This is to say it is necessary to look at how the impact on Persian in Acehnese society. It is also argued that the presence of Shiah in Aceh in contemporary era has led to cultural rather than politic and theology. However, because of conflict between Sunni and Shi‘ah in Middle East, issue on anti-Shi‘ah gives serious impact to religious life in the province.


Introduction
This article aims to examine the history of Shi'ah 1 in Aceh by looking at the influence of Persia in the province.There have been two Syeikh Syamsul Bahri Abdullah al-Asyi.The text was re-written by Said Abdullah Ibn Saiyid Habib Saifuddin on 1275 H. 7 These findings are published in 1999, when I investigated on the issue of early history of the development of Islamic law in Indonesia. 8n 2013, I was invited in an international conference on the presense of Shiah in Southeast Asia.In this meeting I argued that it is a necessary to clarify on the coming and influence of Shi'ah and Persia in Aceh.Then, I expanded the paper which was published in Sejarah & Budaya Syiah di Asia Tenggara (History and Culture of Shi'ah in Southeast Asia). 9This article which is based on the paper that I presented in the conference, is to examine some data on the influence of Persia and Shi'ah in Aceh.There have been bibliographic study on the Persian and Shi'ah studies in Southeast Asia by Majid Danesghar in 2014. 10owever, in this article I will study the history of Shi'ah through socio-historical and socio-anthropological approaches.As an Acehnese, I have witnessed that many of Acehnese traditions are still as partly imported rituals. 11This is because we cannot disagree with the fact that the impact of Persian tradition 12 and its relationship with two Islamic kingdoms in Aceh i.e.Peureulak and Samudra Pasai.Historically, the first king of Peureulak was Sulthan Alaiddin Sayyid Maulana Abdul Aziz Syah.The genealogy of this Sultan is: Abdul Aziz bin Ali bin al-Muktabar al-Baqir bin 'Ali Muhammad Zainal Abidin bin Husin al-Syahid bin 'Ali bin Abi Thalib.The coming of Shi'ah was due to the conflict in the era of Khalifah Makmun (167-219), namely the case of Muhammad bin Jakfar Shiddiq bin Muhammad Bakar bin 'Ali Zainul Abidin bin Hassan bin 'Ali bin Abi Thalib who was against the Khalifah Makmun.The Sultan had asked the group of Shi'ah to expand Islam to other regions such as Hindi and Southeast Asia.This group had arrived in Peureulak and established the Kingdom of Peureulak on 1 Muharram 225 H. 13 Indeed, local scholars such as A. Hasjmy, Junus Djamil, and Aboebakar Atjeh have argued that "there was Shi'ah in Aceh." 14 This statement needs to be reviewed on how Sunnis declare that they were part of history of Shi'ah in Southeast Asia.As many go further to claim that Sunni in Aceh should "thank" to the teachings and traditions of Shi'ah.Why should the Acehnese do this?As we know in the history of Aceh we might find that it is only the history of Sunni in Aceh, not the history of Shi'ah.In other words, the history of Islam in Aceh is the history of Sunni.Why then, they (Acehnese) declare that Acehnese tradition could not stand without Shi'ah tradition.An informant said, the decline of Aceh in the 17 th Century was because the issue of Wahdatul Wujûd.And, some argued that this teaching such as hidden Imâm 15 was part of Shi'ah teaching in Aceh.Can, then, we say that the teaching of Wahdatul Wujûd which was promoted by Hamzah Fansuri16 as the continuity of the concept of Imâm among Shi'ah?It is not easy to answer this question without taking into account the concept if Imâmah in Shi'ah and Insân Kamil in Sunni.Thus, Ali Hasjmy put forward by saying the concepts were Aceh and ended in the 17 th Century.After the decline of Acehnese Kingdoms, the dominance of Muslim group in Aceh had been Sunni.It is argued that there have been many evidences on the presence of Persian and Shi'ah culture in Aceh.However, it needs to differentiate on the impact of Persian and Shi'ah in the province.This article is divided into three parts.The first part is an investigation on the influence of Persian and Shi'ah domination in the early of history of Aceh.This section will examine the roots of the coming of both traditions in Aceh.

The Roots
Historically, the discussion of Shi'ah and Persia in Aceh could be categorized in five aspects.The first is Shi'ah as ideological power during the first era of Peureulak, as the oldest of Islamic Kingdoms in Aceh.The second is the problem of Shi'ah in Aceh as part of conflict among Muslim in Middle East.These historical facts have influenced Acehnese, especially among Sunnis, where the conflict between Sunni and Shi'ah had always referred the history of Ahl al-Bayt.The third is the influence of Persian language which is sometimes seen as part of the internationalization of Shi'ism in Southeast Asia.This can be examined in the history of political languages in Aceh which are adopted from Persian tradition. 17The fourth is the problem of Shi'ah that can be studied in the history of literature or art such as hikayat.It is argued that many of hikayats in Aceh have been imported from the Persian literature. 18The fifth is the problem of Shi'ah in Aceh currently is entrapped in the global conflict between West and Iran. 19ach of aspect underlines some concepts.The first tells us the history of political power from Middle East to Aceh.Historically, the coming of Islam to Aceh was during the era of Sahabat (companions).Accordingly in this era there was no separation between Sunni and Shi'ah.But, some argued that after the death of the Prophet there were two groups: ahl al-bayt and non-ahl al-bayt. 20From the first group it is named as Shi'ah, 21 while the second is called as Sunni. 22I would not open the conflict between the two groups, as many scholars have elaborated on the issue, 23 but the main problem is: why did and does the issues of "should be" and "should not be" among the two still influence our religious belief?M. Ismail Marcinkowski in his study on the root of Persian tradition in Southeast Asia maintains that it is mistaken to claim that all of Persian influences in the region remain Shiite teaching.This is because the era of Shiite Kingdom in Persia was started during the era of Dynasty of Safawi Shah Ismail I (1501-1524) until early of the 16 th Century. 24Majid Danesghar maintains that "this Persian Shi'ah influence extended beyond South Asia into the Malay Archipelago, yet the exact nature of this influence remains somewhat unknown." 25 When Islam came to Aceh, Muslim did not declare that they were Sunni or Shi'ah.It is unlikely to find any resources about the declaration of the first Muslim in Aceh claiming that they were the follower of Shi'ah or Sunni.But, their arrival of Shi'ah to Aceh was as an impact of conflict in Arab Peninsula.When I travelled in the area where Aboebakar Atjeh claimed as the place of Shi'ah in North Aceh, I found that many of the tombs were from Persia.It is important to note that the area of these tombs is near the sea and river in North Aceh.Taqiuddin Muhammad, a local archeologist told me that he did not find any fact about the presence of Kingdoms of Peureulak in East Aceh. 26However, he found many of tombs that are through his reading can be claimed from Persian's name.What struck me is why we should pay attention to the Kingdom of Peureulak, not the mausoleums.A local archeologist informed us that the distance of grave is about 30 km from the Strait of Malacca.However, many of the tombs in the forest are not preserved by the government. 27This tells us that many of archeological facts are not being investigated by scholars.They focus on the nearest place to coastal area. 28ecently, Taqiuddin Muhammad during his archeological research in North Aceh, has listed many of the graves in North Aceh which are seen as impact of the coming of Persian to Samudra Pasai: First, Ibn Khaddajih in Matang Ulim, Samudera, North Aceh.It is found the date of his death was on 681/1283.The word of Khaddajih is from Persian which means as teacher.This date is older than the grave of Sultan al-Malik al-Shalih, dated 696/1297. 29Second, according to not been claimed as the influence of Shi'ah, but 'Ali bin Abi Thalib. 37t the same time, the title of Sulthân al-Adîl in one of gold coin as the oldest currency in Nusantara during era of Sultan Muhamad Malik al-Zahir (1297-1326) was not seen as part Shi'ah's concept on Just Ruler, but it was taken from the Kitab Taj al-Salâtîn. 38The translator of this kitab was Bukhari al-Jauhari in 1603 during the era of Kerajaan Aceh Darussalam. 39In fact, the discussion of sultan al-'adîl is one of Shi'ah's teaching on leadership such as concept of walaya.In doctrine of Shi'ah, sultan al-'adîl "was responsible for tadbîr al-anâm -that is, managing the affairs of humanity.One of the fundamental functions of the sultan is to implement the Islamic ideology based on the principle "enjoining good and prohibiting evil" in Muslim society." 40In Aceh, the title was used not only in Samudera Pasai, but also Aceh Darussalam, from Sultan 'Ali Mughayat Syah (1514-1530-1530) until Sultan Ri'ayat Syah (1589-1604). 41During the Pasai era, it is reported that a century later that coinage came to be used in international trade throughout the archipelago. 42n terms of the literature, as mentioned above, there has been Persian spirit in some Acehnese literatures.Again, scholars would not argue the influence of Shi'ah in this matter.Through Aceh era (1500-1600), many Persian adab-works were translated or adapted into Malay language. 43This can be found, for example, in the text of Tâj al-Salâtin, which is according to Braginsky probably the author who came from an Indian-Persia tradition. 44 ).In all their historical works, the influences of the Persian tradition are very obvious, particularly in regard to the Persian tradition of the stories of Creation and ancient kings.After the era of al-Tabari, al-Mas'udi and Ibn Khaldun, the writing universal history moved towards the Persian tradition. 45here was also impact of Persian in the mysticism of Hamzah Fansuri as shown in his works. 47t is reported that the ultimate Acehnese civilization had declined when the issue of Wahdatul Wujud 48 and the fatwa from Mecca for the abolishment of women as rulers.Ever since, the Kingdom of Aceh was controlled by the family of Jamal al-Layl from Arab. 49Soon after this tragedy, the Persian or Shi'ah traditions were seen as cultural heritage.The people have practiced the tradition from Persian or Shi'ah until today, which can be found in Acehnese arts and cultures. 50his is why local scholars from Aceh are still arguing that Acehnese tradition cannot be separated from the Shi'ah or Persian traditions. 51owever, the Acehnese would not claim themselves as the followers of Shi'ah.This is because every cultural heritage is seen as part of endatu tradition.For them, endatu is a group of old generation who came to Aceh for not only religious purposes, but also for trading.The Acehnese may not focus on the background of their endatu, but on what the endatu had inherited them as cultural which seen as reusam or adat istiadat (customs).For religious teaching, the Acehnese will only follow three aspects: Syafi'i, al-Ghazzali, and Asy'ari.These aspects have been crystallized in the institution of dayah (traditional Islamic boarding school). 52It seems that the Shi'ah traditions can be found outside dayah.However, the elements of custom in Aceh have been mixed in space, time, and history of the people.This is so because the roots of Acehnese culture are imported from Middle East and South Asian. 53The meetings of many traditions can be found near the coastal areas.

Cultural Landscapes
It seems that the influence of Persian tradition is important in the history of religious intellectual in Aceh.However, it is hard to conclude that the Persians were Shi'ism, because the Acehnese had known Persian intellectual tradition before the controversy of Shi'ism in Nusantara. 54It is believed that the word "Aceh" is coming from Achaemenia in the era of King of Darius (521-486 BC). 55Some Acehnese believe that the origin of Acehnese people were from the Achaemenia people. 56Regarding the Achaemenian, it is said that "They had created "world empire" encompassing of the oldest and most honored kingdoms and peoples of the ancient Near57 In addition, the Achaemenian along with Sasanian influenced Islamic or Arabic civilization. 58t is interesting to note about the identity of Achaemenian.Local scholars have argued on the impact of Achaemenian era in Nusantara.There is a song by a local artist (Rafly Kande) on the honour of King Darius as part of Acehnese dignity.The lyrics are as follow: Beek tabeoh kada wangsa meutuwah; turounan meugah meuri-ri wangsa; khujja ngoen majja lakap geupajah; turoenan meugah darius raja. 59ocal authors even go further by saying: "Persian people came to Pulau Ruja (Island of Ruja) in the era of King Darius who had power from Egypt Hindi until Pulau Ruja.Their coming to the island was to establish a country which was later called as Aceh." 60 Pulau Ruja is another name for Aceh.Historically there were two groups from outside Aceh who played an important role in establishing the Pulau Ruja: suke imuem peut (group of four 'ulamas) and suke tok bate (group of technicians).They had come to Aceh from the Middle East and South Asia.In fact, both of groups were a group of religious leaders from Arab, Turkey, and Persian. 61mong the Acehnese society which is near the Strait of Malacca, 62 there is a triangle of cultural landscape: mosque, dayah, and market.The triangle has been developed near the river.Thus, it is not surprising that Acehnese villages were built by endatu (old generation) near to river as a means for good transportation with both insiders and outsiders.The reproduction of culture was started near to sea then moved to village that was closed by river.After the triangle, the endatu started to build the kampongs according their cosmological belief.The name for this effort was called as puga nanggroe (build village).The kampongs would not be far from the sea.The last destination of the process was to establishment for another area for kampong near the jungle.During my trip in North Aceh, the graves of unknown 'ulama were found in between the paddy field and the jungle.The grave of Kings can be seen near the triangle of cultural landscape.The coming of the Dutch was through the sea.They attacked the villages near to triangle. 63Many of Acehnese had to move to last front: jungle or mountain.During this process, the Acehnese faced not only the destruction of Kingdoms by the Dutch, but also the custom which was changed by Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje. 64hat I would like to show is that the Acehnese culture has been in catastrophic situation.Acehnese don't have any single Kings or even Kingdoms anymore.After the colonial period, the Acehnese were also in a conflict between 'ulama and ulee balang which is seen social revolution.Soon after that, the Acehnese were in conflict with central government.Thus, the roots and cultural production have become unclear.The Acehnese society has attached their religious belief only to the 'ulama from dayah.At the same time, the people still see that their endatu tradition could spirit of identity for them.In this situation, the people are likely to tailor themselves to what endatu have done without asking their originality.
Given this process, it is not mistaken when Acehnese scholar who tried to investigate the root of culture would meet "should not be…" i.e.Shi'ah.The Acehnese did not see Shi'ah as "problem" as we might found in Islamic history 65 and what has been going on in the Middle East. 66The Acehnese are in the position of seeking their root of endatu tradition.Even there is a declaration that there were Shi'ah's elements in their cultural life, the people would not visit the holy places in Iran.The Acehnese would not publish Shi'ah's book as we found in Java.In this context, the Acehnese understand Shi'ah for culture only, not for political consciousness or even for political ideology.During the visit of Iranian Ambassador to Aceh, an Acehnese student still asked: can Sunni and Shi'ah be an umbrella of the ummah.This situation has led to efforts of intellectuality in Aceh without being entrapped in conflict between Sunni and Shi'ah.Some Acehnese, especially in urban area, still see Shi'ah as the enemy of Sunni.However, when they return to their originality of cultures, they might not challenge the Shi'ah's or Persian's elements.
As I mentioned above, that the reproduction of religious understanding has been in dayah.The reproduction of Acehnese culture has been found outside dayah.Who does this process?How do they manage the situation?Many Acehnese have said that the originality of their culture have been related to Hinduism and Buddhism.However, only Muhammadiyyah and Wahabism have challenged the tradition by returning the society to the Qur'an and Sunnah.Both of networks have established pesantren, school, universities in Aceh to produce religious understanding.But, they could not change in remote areas.The contestation between dayah (traditional group) and pesantren (modern group) has been seen as the transformation from teungku to ustaz.This symbolic title can be used a symbol of the competition in religious learning in Aceh. 67ome of the graduates from Wahabism pesantren in Aceh would be sent to Middle East.Shi'ah has not established any dayah or pesantren in Aceh.Their network has not been opened to public.As Shi'ah's culture is seen as living tradition among Acehnese, so that the society do not challenge Shi'ah.At the same time, the young generation who are graduated from Middle East or Wahabism play important role against Shi'ah in Aceh.Accordingly, they always refer to the argument of Middle Eastern ulama.In a session of discussion about Shi'ah in Aceh, the young speaker who is a graduate from Egypt brought many kitab in front of audience to present his argument about anti-Shi'ah.After his presentation, the participant asked him not to bring the problem of Middle East to Acehnese society.We, according to a participant, already in conflict for more three decades, please do not bring another source of conflict to Aceh.An informant told me, that the supporters for anti-Shi'ah in Aceh are Wahabism, an Islamic political party, a group of young Acehnese who finished their study in the Middle East.This group is young generation in Aceh.They play their role in urban areas.After the Tsunami, many of pesantrens from Wahabism were built in Aceh.They received funding from "outside" Aceh.In contrast, the tradition of dayah would not receive any support from other resources as pesantren did.
However, the tradition and village that have practiced Shi'ah tradition still can be found in some areas in the province. 68I was told that in North Aceh, there is a group of Shi'ite.They live together with Sunni without any conflicts.Meanwhile, in Pidie Jaya, there is a gampong (village) which is seen as Shî'î.At the same time, a head of IJABI (Ikatan Jama'ah Ahlul Bait Indonesia [The Indonesian Council of Ahli Bait Associations])69 of Aceh, informed me that they still celebrate festival of Shî'î in Bireuen, Aceh Jeumpa.In addition, many of young Acehnese who are from Sunni family are seen as pro-Shi'ah and stand for this sect as "contestation power" of the domination of Sunni in Aceh.They see that Shi'ah as very dynamic Muslim sects and it gives them some inspirations for their intellectual and spiritual life.I was informed that some of them are graduated from Iranian Universities which is not funded by Acehnese or Indonesian government.This situation is similar with young Muslim Iranians who live in Iran as the largest Shi'ah population in the world, but they are silently in agreement with their ancestor religion that is Zoroaster. 70hile for those who see Shi'ah as part of Acehnese culture are group of young Acehnese who began their religious understanding with the term of Islam Warna Warni (Colorful Islam).They have discussion on many of Islamic sects.The group who is anti-Shi'ah is likely supported by the government on the ground of the implementation of Islamic law.And, the issue of Shi'ah is seen as part of deviant group in Islam.Therefore, the issue of Shi'ah has turned to issue of sesat menyesatkan.Generally, in Indonesia, the sect is not recognizable.This is why Acehnese always bring the discussion of Shi'ah to cultural level.

Conclusion
This study has shown the impact of Shi'ah in Aceh.However, it is necessary to do more studies on Shi'ah in the province, as historically and anthropologically, might be connected with Persian traditions.As we have examined, the element of Shi'ah can be found not only in the history of Islamic Kingdoms in Aceh, but also in many of cultural aspects.In addition, the Acehnese still see that Shi'ah and Persian have
Besides the Tâj al-Salâtin, in Aceh era, there was a book written by Syaikh Nurdin Ar-Raniry entitled Bustân al-Salatin.It is believed that the model of story in this kitab was influenced by the Persian tradition.Jelani Harun says that: Many Persian historians, who wrote in the Persian language, emerged alongside the Arab historians and produced universal histories.But, from the sixth century onwards … the Persian historian began to diverge from Arabic historiography and to form their own style of historical writing.Some of well-known Persian historians are al-Bayhaqi (d.c.470 A.H. /1077), al-Qashani (d.703 A.H./1303), al-Qazwini (d.750 A.H. /1349), Mirkhwand (d.910 A.H./1504) and Khwandmir (d.942 A.H. 1535