Following a Higher Law.(Sharia in Indonesia)

The West Java Regency of Cianjur is known throughout Indonesia for its fragrant, slightly sticky rice. But something else is growing in these fertile highlands, and the rest of the country is watching with great interest. Cianjur is one of seven rural areas that, at the request of grass-roots religious groups, is experimenting with Islamic law, or Sharia. But this is no push to stone adulterers or cut off the hands of thieves, as in Nigeria or Afghanistan. "It's different than what people think about Sharia," says Wasidi Swastomo, the regent of Cianjur. "The upholding of Sharia here is a morality campaign asking people to be good Muslims."

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, is in the midst of a growing Islamic fundamentalist movement, led by a small but vocal band of radical clerics. These mullahs, some of whom allegedly have links to terrorist groups, have called for an Islamic state with the full adoption of Sharia, including severe punishments for offenders. But those actually instituting religious law in isolated towns and villages in Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi aren't new recruits to the radicals' cause. Rather, they see the faith-based initiative as a way to confront three decades of government corruption and injustices under former dictator Suharto. "The morality campaign is driven by corruption and injustice," says Haji Abdul Halim, head of the Indonesian Islamic Council in Cianjur. "There's a lack of faith... in legal institutions."

That may explain why, if anyone is being targeted by the introduction of Sharia, it's civil servants--including the police and military. After decades of abuse during Suharto's rule, many Indonesians believe government officials are more interested in lining their pockets than serving the public. The hope is that Sharia, rooted as it is in religious beliefs and principles, will check their petty corruption by shaming these civil servants into acting as the upright officials they are supposed to be. So, while all citizens are being encouraged to pray five times a day and go to the mosque, the morality campaign has higher expectations for local officials: they are also being asked to attend Qur'an study classes and wear traditional Muslim garb on Fridays. Female officials have been asked to wear a Muslim headscarf--called a jilbob--to work every day. (Sellers at Cianjur's local market say jilbob sales have tripled this year.) There are--as ...