Morality Police Back With a Vengeance in Aceh
It was a breezy, sunny day. The Neusu soccer field in capital Banda Aceh was abuzz with positive energy. A dozen or so small boys were playing soccer, while several young men jogged around the field — A happy scene amid the sadness left by the deadly tsunami that killed more than 100,000 people in December 2004.
The idyllic Sunday morning, however, came to an abrupt end when members of Wilayatul Hisbah or morality police arrived at the scene.
“All of you, get into the car!” they shouted at the boys and adults on the soccer field.
Ahmad Sobirin, a social worker with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) who was jogging around the field, was also asked to come to the office of the morality police. “”Your knees are not properly covered,”" one officer told Ahmad.
At the office, Ahmad and the young boys received a lengthy lecture on Islamic law or sharia which requires Muslims to cover certain parts of their body in public.
Wartawan Tempo sejak 1998. Menjelajah berbagai desk, antara lain ekonomi, nasional, kesehatan, sains, gaya hidup, dan investigasi. Sejak Januari 2009 ditugasi menjadi Direktur Eksekutif Institut Tempo, sebuah lembaga yang dicita-citakan menjadi pusat pengembangan jurnalistik di Indonesia. Lulusan Fakultas Biologi, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, tahun 1996. Setelah lulus kuliah, bergabung dengan Majalah Warta Ekonomi (1996) sebagai staf riset dan kemudian menjadi reporter di majalah Panji Masyarakat (1997).