Minggu lepas, saya berkesempatan untuk menziarahi Banda Aceh. Ia bukan lawatan rasmi, mahupun ekspedisi ambil gambar. Cuma mahu menghirup udara yang lain sambil merehatkan otak. Insha Allah di masa akan datang, boleh ke sana lagi...

// Sebaik saja mendarat di Medan, cepat-cepat saya menulis kadar tukaran Ringgit dan Rupiah di atas tapak tangan untuk rujukan pantas. Nanti kena tipu!

// Masjid ini tempat aku berehat sepanjang aku di sana

// Hmmm... rasanya berbeza sekali rupanya sebelum badai tsunami melanda. Sumbangan dari pelbagai sumber - pemerintah Saudi, sampailah ke kerajaan negeri Terengganu, membolehkan masjid ini dipulihkan kembali.
Berbilion-bilion (USD 6.6b) telah dihabiskan bagi membangunkan kembali negeri ini. Banyak NGO-NGO, tidak kiralah jenis yang mana, berebut-rebut untuk berjasa (walaupun ada yang agenda tersembunyi).

// Notis untuk yang beriktikaf...

// Mari belajar bahasa Arab

// Puisi di papan kenyataan masjid

// Aiya, agak pelik perspektif masjid - lensa PC (Perspective Correction) diperlukan...

//
Distortion pada lensa teramatlah jelas.

// Bermain-main dengan air. Pelawat yang datang akan men'cicah' kaki, membersihkannya sebelum melangkah naik tangga dan masuk ke dalam masjid.

// Oh ada sebab rupanya...

// Jurugambar boleh diupah untuk mengambil gambar anda...

// Papan tanda tak jemu mengingatkan kita semua...

// Daftar nama doktor di klinik pakar... hmmm kalau buat di hospital di sini, sah jadi pokok pitis pula nanti.

// Koran (Suratkhabar) Serambi merupakan salah satu media cetak yang popular di sini.

// Selepas kuliah maghrib baru teringat nak ambil gambar

// Mencari rezeki di waktu malam - di Banda Aceh terasa selamat, walaupun waktu malam... hmmm betulkah?

/// Mencari rezeki di waktu malam 2

// Hu.... saya terlepas menghadiri acara ini...
Dan ini antara teman seperjalanan saya di sana...
Islam and Social Change: The Role of the Ulama in Acehnese Society. 2005. Penerbit UKM: Bangi. ISBN 967-942-688-2 (paperback). 170 pp. Yusny Saby.For more than two decades the reformist ulama played a significant role in Acehnese society. Over time, the traditional ulama from the pure dayah background were branded as ulama kolot (awkward ulama) and their educational institutions came to be ridiculed. The more flamboyant appearance of the reformist ulama kept the dayah ulama in the shadows. The development of the Acehnese community within the Indonesian context required the reformist ulama to play a major role in politics. The coming of the Japanese administration in Aceh was also facilitated by the ulama. As a result, the Japanese administration in Aceh gave them a limited role in the bureaucracy, which also provoked jealousy from the uleebalangs. The development of Indonesian politics, and the change of the central government policy towards Aceh, caused a serious problem in regard to the position of the ulama. The ulama felt that they had been betrayed and humiliated. In due time, the traditional ulama will also face the challenges. In order to grasp the complexities of the ever increasing demands of modern society, the traditional ulama are also required to develop themselves in such a way that people are still in need of what they can offer and can benefit from their guidance in many aspects of life. The crucial field is education. Without necessarily shifting the total emphasis of the traditional curriculum, surely some additions can be made. The ulama should think of opening up the existing ‘rigid’ model of education, particularly the dayah one. Only through the improvement of education can the ulama contribute to the country and the society. The social problems in Aceh, and the participation of the ulama in handling them, strengthen the role of the ulama, not only in the eyes of the rural people, but also in the wider arena. The need of some ‘secular’ leaders to have some link with the traditional ulama, the spiritual healing they provide, and the increasing numbers of dayah communities, make them even more prominent.
YUSNY SABY, Ph. D., Professor at the Postgraduate Programme, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Ar-Raniry Darussalam, Banda Aceh, Sumatera, Indonesia.
Terima kasih semua yang di sana.