Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A fight broke out between members of the Banda Aceh public order agency and the province's sharia police unit Thursday, during a musical stage show held to celebrate their respective 58th and 4th anniversaries.

"It was just a small misunderstanding and not a large-scale brawl among officers," said H. Marzuki, who oversees the two agencies.

The fistfight began when sharia police operations commander Syafrudin said one of the dances did not reflect an Islamic atmosphere and should be stopped instantly, Marzuki said.

A quarrel ensued when several public order officers objected. Syafrudin and public order commander Tarmizi exchanged blows, before a scuffle broke out between members of the two units. The event was then closed down.

"The fight would not have happened had the sharia police officer asked politely," Marzuki said.

No casualties were reported in the incident. "They have made peace and apologized to each other," Marzuki said.

The two police units had jointly organized the event. "It was a joint event between the public order agency and sharia police because we are now part of the same institution in the Aceh administration," Marzuki said.

With the implementation of the 2006 Law on the Aceh Administration, the public order and sharia police units were merged under a single command.

"The public order officers are tasked with overseeing the implementation of provincial ordinances, while the sharia police oversee sharia law in Aceh," Marzuki said.

The sharia police unit was established in the staunch Muslim province, dubbed the Veranda of Mecca, in 2004. The unit joined the public order agency on March 11 this year.

The public order agency came under the Aceh provincial administration before the 2006 law was enacted, while the sharia police was under the auspices of the Aceh Islamic Sharia Office.

The Aceh Islamic Sharia Office has four ordinances on the implementation of sharia in Aceh, one each on Islamic dress code, alcohol, gambling and immoral acts.

"To regulate the four ordinances, the Aceh administration eventually formed an institution to oversee their implementation," said Marzuki.

Head of the Banda Aceh Islamic Sharia Office, Natsir Ilyas, said the sharia police unit has the authority only to oversee the implementation of sharia ordinances. "They have no authority to arrest people violating sharia," Natsir told The Jakarta Post.