Indonesia's troubled Aceh province will establish the nation's first Islamic court next week to prosecute violators of Shariah law, an official said Wednesday.
Though Indonesia has the world's largest population of Muslims, the government is secular and religion is not a determining factor in court cases.
However, in a move to appease rebels in Aceh province which has been wracked by nearly three decades of civil war the national government has granted the region greater autonomy, including the right to implement Islamic Shariah law.
Aceh's 4 million population practice a more conservative version of Islam than much of the rest of the country.
Shariah law calls for the caning of Muslims who propagate beliefs other than Islam, fail to attend Friday prayers three times in a row, or sell food, cigarettes or drinks in daylight hours during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
The Shariah courts will dole out justice for violators of the new laws, but officials in Jakarta said they will eventually handle murder, adultery and theft cases.
"The inauguration is planned to coincide with the Islamic New Year," said Sofyan M. Saleh, chief of Aceh High Religious Court, of the March 4 holiday.
Aceh is also home to small numbers of Christians and believers of other faiths. They will not face justice in Islamic courts and will still be tried in standard, secular courts.
Shariah is held by Muslims to be a complete legal system that governs every aspect of individual and social life based on the teachings of the holy book, the Quran, and Prophet Muhammad.
Some Muslim groups are pushing for Shariah law to be implemented in the rest of the country. However, officials say there is no plan to do this.