Daud Beureu'eh

Teungku Daud Beureueh (1899 in Pidie, Aceh – 1987 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia), military Governor of Aceh (1945–1953) and leader of the Darul Islam rebellion in the province (1953–1963).

Teungku Mohammad Daud Beureu'eh
Born	17 September 1899 Pidie, Aceh Sultanate
Died	10 June 1987 (aged 87) Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Allegiance	Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh (PUSA) Negara Islam Indonesia

Born in the Keumangan chiefdom of Pidie regency, he began from 1930 to champion a more modern form of Islamic school, and to become a popular reformist preacher. In 1939 he established and lead the Persatuan Ulama Seluruh Aceh (PUSA), or All Aceh Islamic Scholars Association. PUSA was not initially anti-Dutch, but emerged as the principal critic of the Dutch-supported hierarchy of ulèëbalang (aristocrat-officials). Its members contacted the Japanese before their 1942 invasion, in the hope of overturning ulèëbalang rule as a reward for their support. As the Japanese saw a greater need for popular support in 1944, they transferred many judicial functions from the ulèëbalang to religious courts headed by Daud. After the Japanese surrender this conflict between religious and secular elites became violent, leading to the eclipse of the ulèëbalang and the killing of many in the Cumbok Affair of December 1945/January 1946. Daud was thereafter the most influential figure in Aceh, and his support for the Indonesian Republic's struggle against the returning Dutch helped make Aceh a bastion of the Republican cause. He was recognised as Military Governor in 1947, and Governor once independence was won in 1950.

He and his supporters were alienated from Jakarta thereafter. Daud was sidelined in favour of western-educated leaders in 1951 when Aceh was merged in a larger Province of North Sumatra with a substantial Christian (Batak) minority. Supported by former PUSA members and much of the military, he led a rebellion against Jakarta in September 1953, declaring that Aceh would join the insurgent Negara Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic State) formed earlier in Java by Kartosuwiryo. Jakarta quickly retook the cities, but resistance was widespread until 1959, when many supporters accepted a peace agreement whereby Aceh would become a "Special Region" with the right to enact Islamic laws. Daud himself did not return from his guerrilla base until 1962, however, when he was given an amnesty but remained very critical.[1]

After the appearance of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in 1978, Beureueh was arrested and held under house arrest in Jakarta until his death in 1987.[2]

References

1. Reid (2005), p. 341
2. "Daud Beureueh Arrested".

Bibliography

• Siegel, James (1969). The Rope of God. United States: University of California Press.
• Reid, Anthony (1979). The Blood of the People: Revolution and the End of Traditional Rule in Northern Sumatra. Singapore: Singapore University Press. ISBN 9971696371.
• Reid, Anthony (2005). An Indonesian Frontier: Acehnese & Other Histories of Sumatra. Singapore: Singapore University Press. ISBN 9971-69-298-8.