SF Chron: After tsunami, Islamic religious police gain power in Aceh

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/25/MNGCEGD8KC1.DTL

Banda Aceh, Indonesia -- The morality enforcers, a squad of men clad in green trousers and white shirts and women in white head scarves, stride on to this provincial capital's tsunami-scarred beach to weed out sin.

After descending from a pickup truck, the enforcers -- patterned after the religious police of Saudi Arabia -- check identity cards of a couple who had been munching corn on the cob while staring at the sea. The man and woman, obviously sweethearts, are given a stern warning and told to go their separate ways.

... Since the tsunami hit Aceh, Islamic fundamentalists, emboldened by a common belief that the disaster was heaven-sent to punish nonpracticing Muslims, have redoubled their efforts to punish so-called sinners. Some have even blamed the giant waves on women for ignoring Islam.

Al Yasa Abubakar, the director of Wilayatul Hisbah, insists his organization concentrates on gentle persuasion and setting a good societal example. But in smaller towns, witnesses say the religious police have unleashed bully-boy tactics against mainly poor women.

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