Permission from Aceh Besar regency to use the house of the late Controleur Tiggelman in Seulimeuem as Bank Aceh for a Seulimeuem branch has sparked tension among some people, especially those insufficiently informed about what 'to use' actually means. Although the plan to convert the house into a Bank Aceh building is not indicative of intension to misuse it, these people insisted on curbing the plan.
The Indonesian Law No. 11 year 2010 overtly guarantees the use of heritage sites under certain conditions. It needs to preserve the sites' materials and cherish them during the use. With this in mind, some narratives provoking that the Seulimeuem project violates the fatwa of the Aceh Ulama Council sounds somewhat pushy. So, one has to first bear in mind that perseverance is not always actualised by conserving the sites and fortify them from public access. Rather, it will be more practical to trust them on parties that can use and develop them, resulting in benefits for the people in the surroundings.
The house is located on the side of Medan-Banda Aceh highway around Seulimeuem market area. It is immediately visible for everyone from eastern part of Seulawah mountain heading to Banda Aceh. Before the project plan was announced, it has been used as the office of the Seulimeuem sub-district. Its construction has been enjoying unstructured renovation. Its wooden walls has been insulated here and there where necessary. No such heated tension ever felt before the project. Unhalted information circulation on media might contribute to this phenomenon.
A popular argument to reject the project is that the house harbours a memory of
a Dayah student killing Controluer Tiggelman in 1942, the last year of Dutch
occupation on Aceh and Indonesia due to Japanese dominance. Noteworthy is that
during the first half of 1940s, there was a heated polarisation between
traditional and modernist Muslim scholars. Dayah was, and still is, an
education institution commonly associated with the former, while the latter was
more popular with Madrasah type of institution. The attack towards the
Controleur was actually conducted by a student of Masrasah Seulimeuem, not a
Dayah. Simply put, careless use of both term can obscure the truth.
The house is located on the side of Medan-Banda Aceh highway around Seulimeuem
market area. It is immediately visible for everyone from eastern part of
Seulawah mountain heading to Banda Aceh. Before the project plan was announced,
it has been used as the office of the Seulimeuem sub-district. Its construction
has been enjoying unstructured renovation. Its wooden walls has been insulated
here and there where necessary. No such heated tension ever felt before the
project. Unhalted information circulation on media might contribute to this
phenomenon.
A popular argument to reject the project is that the house harbours a memory of
a Dayah student killing Controluer Tiggelman in 1942, the last year of Dutch
occupation on Aceh and Indonesia due to Japanese dominance. Noteworthy is that
during the first half of 1940s, there was a heated polarisation between
traditional and modernist Muslim scholars. Dayah was, and still is, an
education institution commonly associated with the former, while the latter was
more popular with Madrasah type of institution. The attack towards the
Controleur was actually conducted by a student of Madrasah Seulimeuem, not a
Dayah. Simply put, careless use of both term can obscure the truth.
As a
matter of fact, Madrasah Seulimeuem was once famed for its head, Teungku Abdul
Wahhab, who was assigned as the head of PUSA (Association of Ulama all over
Aceh) of Aceh Besar branch. In 1946 he served as the regent of Pidie and in
from to 1953 to 1955 stayed in Saudi Arabia working in the Indonesian
Embassy there. Returning to Indonesia in 1955 he was trusted a positon in the
Indonesian Department for Religious Affairs in Jakarta. He and another scholar
with the same name Teungku Abdul Wahhab Seulimeum, the founder of Zawiyah Ruhul
Fata, are sometimes regarded as one person. The latter was the one with the
traditional school background, meaning the two are fairly different in terms of
schools of Islamic thoughts they are preaching.
One important figure in the Aceh political history who was ever affiliated to
Madrasah Seulimeuem is Prof. Aly Hasjmy, the first governor of Aceh. His
modernist background of education, starting from Normal Islam in Bireuen to
Al-Jami'ah Al-Islamiyah in Padang, equipped him sufficiently to do the task.
Nowadays, the modernist group, being blamed for spreading Wahhabism, is
marginalised and is not given sufficient space to preach their teachings. Not
being honest to narrate the past contribution of this group in struggling
against Dutch annexation can adversely affect the way the Acehnese public
appreciate their history. During heydays of PUSA, the modernist group was
extensively influential politically and socially. The domination is
reserved by the traditionalist group today. This is indicative of the fact that
Aceh has not been characterised solely with one unchangeable socio-political
force. Rather, it was and is open to various preferences across generations.
