Page 132 - INDONESIAN ISLAMIC CULTURE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

competition in the waters of western
122 Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives
“He is (Sultan Iskandar Muda) the one
Indonesia, religious scholars who
probably came from other regions in the
Islamic world, not only acted as advisers
or functioned to legitimize those in
power, but also acted as mediators with
the outside world. Under the spiritual
guidance of these religious scholars,
the rulers of the maritime trade centers
saw themselves as parts of the
cosmopolitan world of Islam. Political
competition would probably never end,
but culture was something they could
share. Therefore, it is understandable
that the Sejarah Melayu asserts that
for their worldly connections, Aceh,
Malacca, Minangkabau and others
turned to Alexander the Great, the
Macedonian King and the historical
figure who had become a mythical
figure in the East. It was also not
surprising that the Sultanate of Sulu
traced its origins to the Minangkabau
and Palembang. Or that the Sultan of
Banten asked Mecca to confirm his
title ---a move the King of Mataram on
Java followed --- although the ruler of
the Holy Land might not have had the
religious authority to do so.
After narrating Iskandar Muda’s various
triumphs, the Bustanus Salatin (The
Sultans’ Garden), states that:
sphere and that many royal symbols
who built the mosque Baitur Rahman and
several mosques in each manzil (region).
He hardened Islam, ordered his people
to pray five times a day, to fast during
Ramadan, also to fast on preferable
days, and to get rid of all those who
drank wine and gambled.” 6
That was the “golden age of Aceh” as
described by Nuruddin al-Raniri, the
most influential scholar at the court of
Sultan Iskandar Thani (1636-1641) the
son in law and the successor of Sultan
Iskandar Muda. Snouck Hurgronje may
have been correct when he stated that
Aceh’s so-called “golden age” is merely a
fairy tale. Nevertheless, in addition to its
political and economic successes, the
7
quote above clearly refers to a particular
aspect of Aceh’s political tradition: the
king has the monopoly over initiatives.
Nuruddin al-Raniri, the trusted cleric of
Iskandar Muda’s successor, never failed
to offer all honors to the sultan, although
others may have contributed as well.
Historians can probably tell of Aceh’s
inclusion in the Indian Islamic cultural
6. T. Iskandar (ed.) Nuruddin ar-Raniri: Bustanus
Salatin (Bab II, Pasal 15), Kuala Lumpur, Dewan
Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1866, p. 36.
7. Denys Lombard, Kerajaan Aceh: Jaman Sultan
Iskandar Muda 1607-1636 (translation), Jakarta:
Balai Pustaka, 1986.
said, a woman may be chosen as
clearly reveal the cultural influences of queen, because “God does not want a
the Mughal palace, as Brakel showed, false ruler for His servants”.
8
but in Aceh’s historical awareness, Nevertheless, in a system that required
Iskandar Muda’s era was the period an authoritarian but just king, a period
when Aceh’s position as the “Veranda of relatively weak rulers started anyway.
of Mecca” was consolidated. Also at From 1641 to 1699, Aceh was ruled by
this time, the powerful dictum “laws four queens in a row. It was a situation
10
and customs are like nails and flesh” when not only Aceh’s territory had been
was coined and Aceh’s cultural position returned to its original borders, when
defined. This cultural definition saw Sultan Iskandar Muda ascended the
Islam as the basis of the cultural and throne, Aceh’s politics were determined
political structure that positioned the to a large extent by the Orang Kaya
sultan in the center of power and balancing of power. The clergy’s position
state symbols. In this constellation, as the king’s certifiers and supervisors
religious scholars were the certifiers of survived and had even been endorsed
9
power and the formulators of reality. by the Adat Aceh, which may be seen as
However, after his death, Iskandar a treatise about 18th century Acehnese
Thani left no male heir which offered ideology. 11
the Orang Kaya (The Rich People),
the competing political and economic Clerics are religious scholars. No
elites, the opportunity to elect a queen matter how great their impact, efforts
as their new ruler ---something that was to turn religious scholars into parts of
discussed hypothetically in the Tajus- the power structure would only have
Salatin now had become a reality. If 10. For a brief biography of these queens see,
there was no acceptable male heir, the Ismail Sofyan, M. Hasan Basry, and T. Ibrahira
manuscript from the early 17th century Alfian (eds.), Wanita Utama Nusantara dalam
Lintasan Sejarah, Jakarta, 1994 (sponsor Bank
8. L.F. Brakel, “State and Statecraft in the I7tb Exim). For a more complete picture see Iljas
century Aceh”, in Anthony Reid & Lance Catles Sutan Pamenan, Rentjong Atjeh Ditangan Wanita,
(eds.), Pre-colonial State Systems in Southeast Djakarta (n.p), 1959 (stencilled).
Asia, Kuala Lumpur: MBRAS, 1975, 56-66. 11. On the relationship between kings and
9. See for example H.M. Zainuddin, Tarich Atjeh religious scholars, see G.W.J. Drewes & P.
Voorhoeve (eds.), Customary Atjeh, Leiden:
dan Nusantara, Medan, Pustaka Iskandar Muda,
1961. VKITLV. Vol. 24, 1958.
Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives 123