Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Inspired by Aceh, the only province where the Islamic Law or Syariah is officially in place, Muslim groups in several other provinces in Indonesia are also pushing for the implementation of the law. To assuage the groups, the government has been forced to revise the criminal law and give it a more Islamic touch.

Banten, South Sulawesi and West Sumatra are among the staunchly Muslim provinces where politicians and activists have been calling for the imposition of the Syariah. In a bid to win separatist hearts in the provinces, Islamic political parties in Parliament have been backing the provinces in their call for the Syariah to be implemented.

Two of these parties – the United Development Party (PPP) and the Crescent Star Party (PBB) – are chaired by Vice-President Hamzah Haz and Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra respectively. The two parties have been campaigning for the inclusion of the sentence: "Muslims must be obliged to the Syariah" in the preamble of the Constitution, a move that has little support outside of the Muslim factions.

In the past year, the Syariah has been a hotly-debated issue in the country, especially with the rise of fundamentalist and militant Muslim groups and Islamic political parties. In some towns in West Java, local administrations have even begun applying the Syariah informally. They make it mandatory for women to wear headscarves, while the police would conduct raids on couples in hotel rooms and make them produce proof of marriage.

But the closest thing to the Syariah for these provinces may be the new version of the Indonesian Criminal Code, the revision of which is currently being drafted by a team of officials, legal experts and Muslim scholars. The draft is expected to be completed and submitted to Parliament before the end of this year.

Said Mr Yusril recently: "We expect that we will complete the deliberation of the bill at the most in three years' time." The new criminal code would not only address contemporary legal issues, but would also incorporate the essence of Islamic law and traditional Indonesian law, he said. The current criminal code, being an 18th century product of the Dutch colonial government, has been widely criticised as archaic and unsuitable for the complexity of Indonesian culture.

Mr Rifyal Ka'bah, a former member of an expert team overseeing the criminal code revision, told The Straits Times that with the revised law, some of the definitions of crimes would be changed as well.

Islamic Law in Aceh

• Muslim women must wear headscarves.
• Men must join Friday prayers at the mosque.
• Night establishments like bars, discotheques, massage or pool houses must be outlawed.
• Alcohol and sex outside of marriage is forbidden.
• Pornography and any form of gambling must also be eradicated.