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THE GRAND BAITURRACHMAN MOSQUE
Photographed by Machyar Kumbang, 1994
The black domes of the Grand Baiturrachman Mosque rise above
Banda Aceh, the capital of the special Indonesian region of
Aceh. The mosque was built in the late 19th century and expanded
in the mid-20th century. About 96 percent of Acehnese people
are Muslims.
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"I
have traveled throughout Indonesia, but there is no place in this
vast archipelago that has gripped my attention like Aceh. Its physical
beauty is astounding, lush shimmering rice paddies, looming mountains
and inviting white sandy beaches. Above all, the Acehnese are the
greatest asset to this province."
Jacqueline M. Koch, a freelance photographer based in the Puget
Sound, contributor to Pacific, the Seattle Times Sunday magazine
(source:
The Atject Time)
According to some historians,
Islam first entered the Indonesian archipelago, and possibly all
of Southeast Asia, through Aceh sometime around the year 700. The
first Islamic kingdom, Perlak (a prosperous trading port in what
is now Aceh), was established in the year 804. Much later, in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the port of Aceh became entangled,
along with the rest of what is now Indonesia, in the European colonial
powers' competition for worldwide political and economic dominance
Interested parties included the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and
British.
Paul Wolfowitz, Dean of the Johns Hopkins
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and former U.S.
ambassador to Indonesia, says that for many centuries Aceh was a
very distinct and influential political entity. "The Sultan
of Aceh," he says, "along with the Sultan of Malacca,
was a major controller of trade through the straits."
profitable spice trade led the Dutch to establish
the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1602. The 1641 death of Aceh's
Sultan-Sultan Iskandar Thani-began Aceh's decline and sparked Dutch
and British efforts to dominate the region. In nationalizing the
VOC in 1799, the Dutch government began to assert firm control over
various Indonesian territories, ushering in the region's Dutch colonial
era.
One of the most significant events in Aceh's
history came in 1824 with the signing of the London Treaty (also
referred to as the Anglo-Dutch treaty). Through this instrument,
the Dutch gained control of all British possessions on the island
of Sumatra (including Aceh, at the island's northern tip). In exchange,
the Dutch surrendered their possessions in India and withdrew all
claims in Singapore. In the same treaty, however, the Dutch agreed
to allow independence for Aceh. Nevertheless, in 1871, the British
authorized the Dutch to invade Aceh, possibly to prevent French
annexation.
Thus, in 1873 the Netherlands issued a formal declaration of war
and invaded Aceh. They found gaining control of the territory more
difficult than expected. The Acehnese resisted occupation, touching
off the Aceh War, which lasted intermittently from 1873 to 1942.
The war was the longest ever fought by the Dutch, costing them more
than 10,000 lives.
Although sources differ as to when the war
actually ended (some say 1903), it appears that guerrilla activity
continued until at least 1914 and that the Dutch did not abandon
their occupation of Aceh until 1942, shortly before the Japanese
invaded Indonesia. After their attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese
turned south to conquer several Southeast Asian countries, including
Singapore. The colonial army in the Dutch East Indies surrendered
in March 1942. In August 1945, just days after the Japanese surrendered
to the Allies, the Republic of Indonesia proclaimed its independence.
Soon, however, both the British and Dutch were back in the region,
for various political and economic reasons.
The next major development was the Linggarjati
Agreement, mediated by Great Britain and signed by Indonesia and
the Netherlands in March 1947. In the agreement, the Dutch recognized
Indonesian sovereignty over the islands of Java, Sumatra, and Madura.
But, many Indonesians viewed the deal as "a violation of Indonesia's
independence proclamation of August 1945, which implied sovereignty
over the whole territory of the Republic." The agreement sparked
more guerrilla fighting and led to another four years of violence
and territorial disputes between the Netherlands and Indonesia.
Perhaps the most critical event in explaining the attitude of many
Acehnese is the signing of the 1949 Round Table Conference Agreements.
Brokered under the auspices of the United Nations, the agreements
provided for a transfer of sovereignty between the territory of
the Dutch East Indies and a fully independent Indonesia. On December
27, 1949, the Dutch East Indies ceased to exist and became the sovereign
Federal Republic of Indonesia, which in 1950 once again became the
Republic of Indonesia when it joined the United Nations. The Kingdom
of Aceh was included in the agreements despite not having been formally
incorporated into the Dutch colonial possession. Subsequently, the
Java-based Indonesian government used armed troops to annex Aceh.
Since annexation, the Acehnese have continued to resent what they
consider foreign occupation
Source
The
chronology of conflict in Aceh.. Aceh, the land of suffering.
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