Daud Beureu eh

Daud Beureu'eh was a prominent Islamic scholar and political leader in Aceh. He was born in 1899 in a village called Beureu'eh, where he received his early education in Islamic studies. He later founded his own Islamic school, Madrasah Sa'adah Abadayah, in Sigli, which became popular among the Acehnese people. He also established the Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh (PUSA), or All Aceh Islamic Scholars Association, in 1939, which aimed to reform the religious and social life of Aceh. He was not initially anti-Dutch, but he opposed the rule of the ulèëbalang, the traditional aristocratic officials who collaborated with the colonial power. He supported the Japanese invasion of Indonesia in 1942, hoping to overthrow the ulèëbalang and gain more autonomy for Aceh. He was appointed as the head of the religious courts by the Japanese, and he gained more influence and popularity among the Acehnese. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, he became the military governor of Aceh and a staunch supporter of the Indonesian Republic's struggle against the returning Dutch. He helped make Aceh a bastion of the Republican cause, and he was recognized as the governor of Aceh once independence was won in 1950. However, he became disillusioned with the central government in Jakarta, especially after Aceh was merged into a larger province of North Sumatra in 1951, which reduced its autonomy and status. He also felt that the secular ideology of Pancasila contradicted his vision of an Islamic state based on the Sharia law. He led a rebellion against Jakarta in 1953, declaring that Aceh would join the insurgent Negara Islam Indonesia (NII), or Indonesian Islamic State, formed earlier in Java by Kartosuwiryo. He fought a guerrilla war against the Indonesian army for a decade, until he agreed to a peace deal in 1963, which granted Aceh a special status and the right to implement Islamic law. He was pardoned by President Sukarno and retired from politics. He was arrested again in 1978, after the emergence of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which sought independence from Indonesia. He was held under house arrest in Jakarta until his death in 1987. He is remembered as a hero and a martyr by many Acehnese, and his name is commemorated in a street in Banda Aceh.