The implementation of sharia in Aceh has have given a complex impacts to several aspects of life of the Christian, economically, culturally, politically and any other aspects of social life. Unlike other Indonesian Christian in different parts of archipelago, the Christian women in Aceh are experiencing the life that regulated by the sharia. Based on the experience in Langsa, some of them (especially teachers, employee, and students) were appealed to wear headscarf (hijab) in their appearance in Islamic public sphere. Those who reside in Aceh Singkil experienced difficulties in establishing church, beyond any difficulties that experienced by Christians in other part of Indonesian region. However, in Southeast Aceh, the Christian live the life of religious harmony among the Muslim majority who implement the Islamic sharia. This article shows that strong encouragement among the Muslim circle to implementing Islamic sharia through political approach could generate difficulties to certain Christians, while to some others it doesn't give any significant negative impact. This article aims to highlight some issues that experienced by Christians who live amid the Muslim majority who implement Islamic sharia. Data were collected during ethnographical studies conducted in the year 2013-2015 in Langsa, Aceh Singkil and Southeast Aceh. Finally, this article proposes significant policy options for managing Muslim-Christian relations in Aceh, Indonesia. Education is crucial for promoting interreligious harmony, religious freedom, and respect for people of different traditions and religion.

This article examines the problem of spatial access for Christian students of Samudera University as experiences of minorities in Langsa, Aceh. This article argues that Aceh’s public space that is formed by religious identity, leads dichotomy of citizenship in social life. Using life story method, this article explores the problem of Christian students of Samudera University to reside in Langsa. The results show the formation of space by displaying a single identity has polarized majority-minority in public space. Finally, this article also shows that the formation of space by displaying a single identity created an imbalance space for minority, and compelling minority to create alternative space.[Artikel ini membahas persoalan akses ruang berdasarkan pengalaman mahasiswa minoritas Kristen di Universitas Samudera, Langsa, Aceh. Artikel ini berargumentasi bahwa ruang publik Aceh terbentuk oleh identitas religius yang berujung pada dikotomi kehidupan sosial penduduknya. Dengan pendekatan life story, artikel ini menjelaskan masalah yang dihadapi mahasiswa Kristen yang tinggal di Langsa, Aceh. Dalam kesimpulannya menunjukkan bahwa formasi ruang publik terbelah dan tidak seimbang antara identitas mayoritas dan minoritas, dimana identitas minoritas terdesak untuk menciptakan ruang alternatif baru.]

<p><em>Most studies discussing about interfaith marriage and religious conversion are ignoring woman's autonomy in </em><em>selecting spouse</em><em> as well as choosing religion. This paper examines the agency of women who converted due to marriage based on the experiences of </em><em>four</em><em> women in two areas in Aceh, the South East Aceh, and Aceh Singkil. Data was collected through observation and semi-structured interviews of </em><em>four </em><em>converted women, her husband, and her relatives. The phenomenon of religious conversion on the reason of marriage is placed in the feminist poststructuralist discourse, especially the concept of pious agency and critical piety agency. This paper challenges the view that says religious conversion on the reason of marriage will give the result to those who converted that religion to them is merely administrative matters and they lose their focus on building personal piety. Instead, this article argued the possibility of </em><em>people </em><em>who convert to other religion represent their religiosity after conversion as well as before conversion</em><em>.</em></p>

Kehadiran Qanun Nomor 11 Tahun 2018 tentang Lembaga Keuangan Syariah berimplikasi pada perkembangan bank syariah di Aceh. Dengan diundangkannya Qanun Lembaga Keuangan Syariah mengharuskan lembaga keuangan yang beroperasi di Aceh berdasarkan prinsip syariah. Akibatnya, bank konvensional di Aceh melakukan konversi menjadi bank syariah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pendapat pro dan kontra dari masyarakat terkait implementasi Qanun Nomor 11 Tahun 2018 pada perbankan yang beroperasi di Aceh. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kualitatif deskriptif dengan metode pengumpulan data dari studi literatur atau pustaka. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pihak yang mendukung konversi bank konvensional menjadi syariah didasarkan pada keinginan untuk menjalankan syariat Islam secara kaffah. Sedangkan pihak yang kontra menolak implementasi dari qanun tersebut dikarenakan kekurangan bank syariah dalam penyediaan fasilitas dan jasa yang sesuai kebutuhan dan terjangkau serta lemahnya persepsi dan tingkat literasi masyarakat mengenai perbankan syariah.   The presence of Qanun Number 11 of 2018 concerning Islamic Financial Institutions has implications for the development of Islamic banks ini Aceh. With the promulgation of the Qanun on Sharia Financial Institutions, it requires financial institutions operating in Aceh to be based on sharia principles. As a result, convesional banks in Aceh converted into Islamic banks. This study aims to determine the opinions of the pro and contra of the public regarding the implementation of Qanun No. 11 Of 2018 in conventional banks operating in Aceh. This research is a descriptive qualitative research with the method of collecting data from literature studies. The results shower that those who supported the converion of conventional banks to Sharia were based on the desire to implements Islamic Law in a kaffah manner. Meanwhile, those sho oppose the implementation of the qanun are due to the lack of Islamic banks in providing facilities and services that are suitable and affordable as well as the weak perception and level of public literacy regarding Islamic banking.

This article examines the ways in which Acehnese Christian women's identities expressed in the Islamic public sphere. The article argues that although theoretically Islamic Shari'a only applies to Muslims, its implementation in Aceh has a significant impact on the daily life of Christian women. The first part of the article presents a critical review regarding the Islamic sharia in Aceh dealing with the discourse of citizenship and the position of non-Muslim. Furthermore, drawing on agency theoretical frameworks, the authors describe the experiences of Christian women from diverse backgrounds to show how they became Christians in the Acehnese way. The article finally shows that Christian women's agencies as a minority in Aceh face a critical situation, although they remain independent and are not easily subdued by public sphere driven by the values and religious identities of the majority.