This article begins with explaining the present problems of Acehnese cultural identity, then articulating how the art is usefully employed to solve those difficulties. Relying on post-colonial theories, I formulate the framework that Acehnese art has significant position to handling current cultural problem of Acehnese society. This work offers a cultural resolution of Acehnese present conflict between traditionalist and modernist Muslims, which are represented by Dayah and Muhammadiyah community in Aceh. It is commonly known that Islam is the pride of the Acehnese. To date, there is, however, no certainty about the nature of Islam in Aceh, as heated debate still exists between traditionalist and modernist Muslims upon the nature of Sharia application in the place. This dispute has generated different extreme perspectives upon seeing themselves in the way to treat their cultural identity. Here we establishes that Acehnese art plays great role in bringing togetherness to different groups of Acehnese society, which results in resolving horizontal conflict of Acehnese society. It shows that Acehnese art accommodates to all of different ness of Acehnese communities and, therefore, raises Acehnese collective consciousness.

AbstrakUlama besar terkemuka dengan sejumlah besar literatur telah banyak membahas tentang peran haji dalam menyebarkan Islam sebagai identitas Aceh. Namun, hanya sedikit literatur yang mempopulerkan peran haji sebagai mekanisme perumusan identitas Aceh. Berdasarkan pengamatan dari situs Rumoh Aceh yang ada saat ini di Mekah, dan kajian yang ekstensif tentang warisan masyarakat Aceh, penulis berpendapat bahwa ibadah haji memainkan peran yang sangat penting dalam mengembangkan peradaban Aceh. Haji juga berperan penting yang menciptakan identitas masyarakat Aceh di antara negara-negara tetangga di Asia Tenggara. Artikel ini memfokuskan pembahasan pada rute penting Selat Malaka sebelum penemuan mesin uap dan selama masa kejayaan peradaban Aceh. Artikel ini memiliki kontribusi yang signifikan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran tentang fakta yang diyakini menjadi alasan kuat mengapa peradaban Aceh telah menjadi kekuatan terdepan saat itu. Kata kunci: Haji; Peradaban Aceh; Identitas Aceh AbstractGreat scholars with great number of literature have previously discussed the legacy of the Islamic pilgrimage's role in spreading Islam as the Acehnese identity. However, few references extrapolate the role of Islamic pilgrimage as the mechanism of Acehnese identity formulation. Based on observation of the current site of Rumoh Aceh in Mecca, and extensive reading on Acehnese heritage, I argue that the Islamic pilgrimage (Hajj) played an extremely important role in developing Acehnese civilisation, as it might have worked as the mechanism of creating Acehnese identity among the Southeast Asian neighbours. This article concentrates on the pilgers' route of Malacca straits'role before the invention of steam machine and during the heyday of Acehnese civilisation. This works has significant contribution to raise the awareness of the fact that is believed to be the strong reason why the Acehnese civilisation has become the leading power at that time. Keywords

<p>This study offers insights into the transformation of social media platforms as an alternative to the digital public sphere for Muslim society in Aceh. The communicative action theory by Habermas is used as approach to respond to this challenge. Descriptive quantitative analyses were used to expose religious discourse about Islam amongst young Muslims in Aceh. The results show that WhatsApp has proven to be the most popular among social media platforms. WhatsApp has functioned as a new public sphere for Muslim society in Aceh and has evolved into an essential part of mediated Islamic discourse in the digital era. In this regard, WhatsApp has created a universal public sphere, available to Muslim society as dialogic communication in Aceh. This research concludes that the Muslims in Aceh are not merely users of WhatsApp. They can also be digital preachers who can build individual narratives as a part of the religious struggle to increase their piety.</p><p><em>Kajian ini dilakukan untuk memberikan pemahaman mendalam tentang bagaimana transformasi platform media sosial sebagai alternatif ruang publik digital pada masyarakat Muslim di Aceh. Teori tindakan komunikatif Habermas digunakan sebagai pendekatan untuk menjawab tantangan ini. Analisis deskriptif kuantitatif digunakan untuk mengekspos diskursus keagamaan Islam di kalangan generasi muda Muslim di Aceh melalui lanskap media sosial baru yang lebih kontemporer. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa WhatsApp telah terbukti menjadi media yang paling populer di antara banyak platform media sosial. WhatsApp telah memberikan manfaat sebagai alternatif ruang publik baru bagi masyarakat Muslim di Aceh dan telah berkembang menjadi bagian penting dalam perkembangan diskursus keislaman di era digital. Dalam hal ini, WhatsApp telah menciptakan ruang publik yang universal, tersedia bagi Muslim sebagai satu bentuk komunikasi dialogis di Aceh. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa umat Islam di Aceh bukan hanya pengguna WhatsApp saja. Namun, mereka juga menjadi penceramah digital yang dapat membangun narasi individu yang dipilih sebagai bagian dari perjuangan dakwah untuk meningkatkan ketakwaannya</em></p>

As cultural expression, Islamic arts are coloured by the theologies of the different Islamic sects. However, the discussion of the cultural expressions such as living images and their links to theological expressions has received little attention of scholars. With respect to this, two distinctive views on living images have emerged, including the salafist and the traditionalist views. The salafist view tends to reject living images as the expressions of Islamic arts, whereas traditionalists recognise living images as part of Islamic expressions of arts. This article attempts to demonstrate the modes of living images, which are argued as part of Acehnese Islamic arts and are used in the traditional houses of Rumoh Aceh. Based on a semiotic analysis of the images and historical approach to Rumoh Aceh ornamentation, I argue that earlier motifs of Acehnese ornamentation reflect the salafist view that insists on Arabic calligraphic, geometric and flowery motifs. However, during the colonial period and the 20th century, Rumoh Aceh's ornamentation has been greatly influenced by the traditionalist theology arts. This is evidenced by the use of animal images, like buraqs, peacocks, pigeons and ducks. This study is significant in that it can contribute to the understanding of the nature of Acehnese arts and Southeast Asian Muslim cultural heritage.

Underpinned by representation theory, this article is an attempt to explain passive islamopobia by critically analysing the discursive construction of Indonesian cultural nationalism, which is based on the content of art and culture subject for secondary school students. The conception of Indonesian nationality comes from both various internal solidarity and contestation between Islamism, Hinduism and secularism, in the resistance against imperialists. Mainstream narrative of Indonesian nationalism has strong root in the Majapahit/Hinduism legacy, which is unwittingly so-called Indonesia as new Majapahit.  In the meantime, the construction of the cultural nationalism excludes Islamic culture and identity. The aim of this work is to explore the relationship between marginality and islamophobia which is internalised in the content of art curricula; both KTSP and K-13. Learning from the art text book content, we argue that the teaching Indonesian cultural nationality fails to consider Islamic art and cultural heritages. The marginality and the exclusion of Islamic art and culture in the construction of Indonesian nationality through art curricula and art education policy indicate internalised passive Islamophobia, rather than showing them the affection for Islamic culture.