Surviving in Veranda of Mecca: The Existence of Chinese Community in Gampong Peunayong, Kuta Alam District,

This research is entitled Surviving in the Veranda of Mecca: The Existence of Chinese Community in Gampong Peunayong, Kuta Alam District, Banda Aceh . This research aims to understand the social situation of the Tinghoa ethnicity and the relationship between the Chinese ethnicity and the People of Aceh, as well as understand the life of the Chinese ethnicity while implementing Islamic law in Aceh. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method. The data collection techniques for this research were observation, interviews, and library research. The object of this study is the people of Gampong Peunayong, both Acehnese and Chinese ethnicity. The results show that Chinese ethnicity in Gampong Peunayong provided responses generated through interactions between Chinese and Acehnese. Responses and feedback from the public varied depending on their respective perspectives in the form of positive and negative responses.


Introduction
Religion is something sacred and important for every human being on earth. The inevitable thing is, in this world, every group has its religion which they have believed from generation to generation or the result of a change of mind. Differences in religion can be seen in the reality that existed in the past and present (Daradjat, 1984, p. 101).
Each religion also has different teachings, principles, norms, and laws in the For example, Peunayong Village, Kuta Alam District, Banda Aceh. In this village, inter-religious life has long been interlaced. Most non-Muslims here come from Chinese ethnicity, mostly Christians and Buddhists. They are allowed to live and mingle with society. So unconsciously, this ethnicity affects the social system of the Peunayong Village community, as well as culture, religion, economy, and education.
As a minor ethnicity, of course, the Chinese ethnicity receives positive/negative treatment and responses from the local community (Acehnese) that inhabits Peunayong Village. There is a big difference between Chinese ethnicity and the People of Aceh regarding all cultures and customs. It has become a law of nature that minorities such as the Chinese ethnicity directly or indirectly receive a negative stigma from the majority community, namely the people of Aceh. For example, in terms of clothing, the people of Aceh, who are predominantly Muslim, wear syar'i and Islamic clothing, while the Chinese ethnicity does not wear headscarves. Indirectly the people of Aceh frowned slightly when they saw their slightly open dress style. That way, how is the response of minor ethnicities in order to be able to survive side by side with the Muslim majority?
Even though they are different, Chinese ethnicity has become Indonesian citizens who live in the Aceh region. Of course, the Aceh government must also formulate laws and provisions for them to follow and obey. Because Aceh has certain laws based on Islamic Shari'ah, some special provisions and laws may apply to Chinese ethnicity as a minority ethnicity. Then, what kind of law is applied by the Aceh government, which may be based on Islam or other provisions?
This problem is what the author describes in this paper by looking at and describing how the People of Aceh respond to and accept Chinese ethnicity living in Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript Volume 02, Number 01, January-June 2023 their area and establishing laws and provisions imposed by the Aceh government on Chinese ethnicity in Banda Aceh. Therefore, the author wants to research Surviving in the Veranda of Mecca: The Existence of Chinese Community in Gampong Peunayong, Kuta Alam District, Banda Aceh City.
The author narrowed the scope to key issues to facilitate this research. With the background information provided, the research question can be formulated as follows: "What is the community's response to the presence of Chinese ethnicity in Banda Aceh according to the perceptions of the Aceh society?".
The method that the writer uses in this paper is a qualitative research method.
Qualitative research intends to understand the phenomenon experienced by research subjects, such as behavior, perceptions, motivations, and actions, and through descriptions in the form of words (Moeleong, 2006, p. 6). A descriptive qualitative research method is a process of research and understanding based on a methodology that investigates a social phenomenon and human problems (Amirin, 2009, p. 77).
Through this method, the author creates a complex picture, examines words and detailed reports from respondents, and produces accurate and reliable data. All of this information was obtained through interviews with informants in the field and also obtained through literature studies.
This research was conducted in Banda Aceh, especially in Kuta Alam District, Gampong Peunayong. This research was carried out in August 2018. This research chooses Gampong as a research locus because most residents living in Gampong were people with religions other than Islam.

History of Chinese Arrival in Aceh
Aceh has been known since the beginning of the formation of the international traffic network (± 1 st century A.D.) (Sudirman, 2009, p. 7). Aceh, located at the tip of Sumatra, has previously had splendor and fame, so it became the attention of traders and religious broadcasters from India, China, and the Middle East. Regarding Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript Volume 02, Number 01, January-June 2023 civilization or the form of the kingdom that existed on the tip of the island of Sumatra at the beginning of the arrival of Islam, there were already two kingdoms that were already established and had high civilization (Usman, 2009, p. 130).
These kingdoms played an important role in Sumatra and the Malacca Strait, especially in defending their territory from enemy attacks. The kingdoms were Lamuri and Samudra Pasai. The Kingdom of Samudra Pasai was also called Parsa, which the Chinese called Tashi. About the name Lamuri, there are lots of spellings. Marco Polo called it Lambri. Some call it Ramini, Ramni, and Arabs call it Lamberi. At the same time, the Chinese called it Lan-li, Lan-wuli, and Nanpoli (Usman, 2009, p. 131).
The name of the Lamuri Kingdom was mentioned many times in Chinese records.
The oldest Chinese news was from 960 AD, which mentioned the name Lan-li, where Persian envoys who returned from China after 40 days of sailing could stop over. They waited for the cool season to sail again to their home country (Sudirman, 2009, p. 11).
Then Chau-Yu-Kwa, in his book Chu Fan-Shi, published in 1225 AD, stated that among the San-fo-ts'i (Sriwijaya) colonies included Lan-Wwu-li,, which was most likely Lamuri. King Lan-wu-li was said not to be a Muslim, yet his palace had two reception rooms. If a person departed from this country in the northeast monsoon, he would arrive in Ceylon within 20 days. In 1286, Lan-wu-li and Su-wen-ta-la sent envoys to China and stayed there while waiting for the return of Kublai Khan's expedition from Java (Sudirman, 2009, p. 10).
Other records at the beginning of the Mongol dynasty in China showed several Sumatra kingdoms, such as Samudera Pasai, Lamuri, Tamiang, Peureulak, and Haru.
The Samudera Pasai Kingdom began to have relations with the Mongol Dynasty in 1282. That year, the ruler of Pasai established relations with China through a Chinese envoy who returned from South India and stopped at Samudera Pasai (Usman, 2009, p. 136 Klantan and Cail envoys visited, then returned with the Cheng-Ho expedition (Sudirman, 2009, p. 10).
Cheng-Ho's expedition occurred during the Ming Dynasty (1360-1643) (Yuanzi, 2007, p. 96). At that time, Samudera Pasai and China had established peace and trade relations (Usman, 2006, p. 68). These rulers sent ships and gifts to one another. In 1430, when Cheng-Ho brought gifts all over the country, Lamri also got a share. The gifts were not sent for the first time because the bell named Cakra Donya bears Chinese and Arabic inscriptions and is marked with the year 1409 AD (Sudirman, 2009, pp. 10-11).
This giant bell is made of bronze with a height of about 1.25 meters and a width of 8.75 meters (Yuanzi, 2007, p. 180). The bell was brought to Banda Aceh during the conquest of Samudera Pasai, conquered by Sultan Muhgayat Syah, the first Sultan of the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam, in 1524 (Ozay, 2007, p. 45).
It is recorded that Cheng-Ho made three visits to Samudra Pasai, namely in 1405, 1414, and 1430. During his second visit, Cheng-Ho witnessed the political conflict that occurred in Aceh. Cheng-Ho's arrival at this time was recorded in the history of the Ming Dynasty as well as the conflict with the Samudra Pasai Kingdom. When this political dispute occurred, Nahriansyah, the daughter of Sultan Zainal Abidin, was in power. A group of people who wanted to overthrow this female leader also attacked Cheng-Ho and his subordinates. However, the people of Samudra Pasai and Chengho's colleagues put up a fight. They succeeded in arresting Iskandar, the leader of the Samudra Pasai rebellion, and brought it to China (Ozay, 2007, p. 45).

This goodwill trip established good trade and business relations between the
Chinese ethnicity and the people of Aceh. Then, Chinese ethnicity began to arrive with more entourage to form groups or settlements in the coastal areas. However, the largest migration was recorded during the Dutch colonial period. c. To the east, it is bordered by Gampong Laksana. d. To the west, it is bordered by Krueng Aceh, Kuta Raja District (Helti, 2015, p. 23 The mixing of religions in one village has been going on for a long time. Moreover, until now, they still live contiguously. In terms of places of worship, every religion has its place of worship. In this village, there is a mosque as a place of worship for the Muslim community and a monastery as a place of worship for the Chinese Chinese community. Even so, all people can worship properly according to their respective religions.

The Response of Acehnese to the Chinese Ethnicity
As social beings, humans need other people for sure. Therefore, humans must mingle with those around them because they cannot live alone. For example, the socialization relationship between neighbors, with social interaction between neighbors, will make it easier for humans to overcome problems around them that need help from other humans. However, what if social assimilation occurs between two different groups, different religions, races, ethnicities, customs, and languages? They have to adapt to each other.
Of course, they can live comfortably and peacefully by doing good actions and creating a desirable environment.
Thus, it happens to Chinese ethnicity and Acehnese that carry out community integration in Gampong Peunayong. These two ethnic groups have lived in the same environment for a long time. Even though Chinese ethnicity has become part of Gampong Peunayong, they are still a minority group because their number is less than the Acehnese.
Nevertheless, the people of Aceh certainly have their assumptions and responses in dealing with different communities' socio-cultural and religious conditions. This response occurs when the people of Aceh are interacting with Chinese ethnicity or not because responses and assumptions can arise from the actions and activities they carry out in everyday life.
Feedback and responses that occur also vary. It depends on the perception of the community itself. Therefore, the author describes the responses obtained from field research and their observations, especially how the people of Aceh responded to the existence of ethnic Chinese, both positive and negative.

Positive Responses of Acehnese to the Existence of Chinese Ethnicity
The first response came from the head of the village (Geusyik), Gampong Peunayong. His response to the Chinese ethnicity living in Aceh was quite good. He says we should not discriminate against them because of different ethnicities or religions. Islam itself comes from the word "peace". From that understanding alone, it is known how to treat Chinese ethnicity properly. Since they live in our area, we must treat them well. What is more, they are already Indonesian citizens. So they have the right to live in Aceh (T. S. Harun, personal communication, September 14, 2018 If the Chinese have religious problems, they will be resolved at church or gatherings. Likewise, if we have problems regarding religion, they will be resolved by themselves at the mosque. And the Chinese ethnicity has been like that from the beginning until now. It is just that their internal problems are rarely seen outside, meaning they are rarely exposed in non-Chinese society (T. Ridwan, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
Apart from that, in Gampong Peunayong, said Imam of the Mosque, there had never been any clashes between ethnic groups except between individuals in the life of fellow neighbors. Apart from that, so far there has never been a serious problem.
Namely, the problem that brought caused ethnic groups to experience a shock to live together. In fact, according to him, there has been a feeling of mutual trust between the "To you is your religion, and to me is my religion," he added. Even so, in Gampong affairs, the Chinese must join Acehnese society with an Islamic theme (Zubaili, personal communication, September 18, 2018). The specifics came from the Chinese ethnicity, not from their identity. This identity means that these specifications appear in the community by themselves, not brought from the ancestral characteristics of the Chinese ethnicity which came to Aceh. As we know, formerly, the Chinese came to Aceh of them for trading. Of course, traders must be gentle and polite to buyers (Joni, personal communication, September 18, 2018).

Journal of Islamic History and Manuscript
Volume 02, Number 01, January-June 2023 Regarding the attitude and kindness of the Chinese to the local community, they are quite friendly. Based on his experience working for 12 years as an employee of a car accessories shop owned by the Chinese, the treatment he has received so far has been good. Never once did he receive unpleasant treatment. When he is guilty, his employer only politely reprimands him (Joni, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
According to him, however, in this part of the world, ethnic minorities will not act harshly against the majority, except for each other. Because the Chinese realized he was an ethnic minority, he had to be kind and make the people of Aceh comfortable. For this reason, Joni feels safe and comfortable living with Chinese ethnicity (Joni, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
Even some of the Chinese follow Acehnese culture with a Muslim majority. For example, Chinese people perform circumcision on their sons. They also learn the Koran. Even in non-Muslim schools, there are Islamic Religious Education subjects to be taught to non-Muslim students. This involvement proves that the Chinese and the people of Aceh do not mind the religious differences that occur between the two (Joni, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
We should thank the Chinese ethnicity, because they are one of the drivers of economic growth in Gampong Peunayong. Moreover, Chinese ethnicity has lived for generations in Indonesia, especially Aceh, until they became an Indonesian citizen. We do not have to discriminate between the people of Aceh and Chinese ethnicity (Joni, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
Another response came from a fish trader at the Peunayong market, usually called Yahyek. According to him, buyers of Chinese ethnicity only bargain a little. Asking for less price is not too drastic. If they like it, they will buy it. If you do not like it, do not buy it. And so far, he is still comfortable and safe carrying out buying and selling religious differences, as long as they do not invite and do not follow their religion, everything is fine. For example, we are veiled, while they are not veiled. That is their right because they do not have to wear the veil in their religion. We also cannot force them to wear the veil (Jefriadi, personal communication, September 23, 2018).
In keeping our respective religions, we must equally defend our faith and beliefs to avoid following other people's religions because to fall into another religion.
Sometimes you do not have to be invited. If their faith is lacking, later, they will fall too. However, so far, the Chinese have never invited the people of Aceh to follow their religion. We should invite them to follow Islam. However, that has yet to happen so far because no one has started to invite. If some Chinese embrace Islam (converts), it is purely from their desires (Jefriadi, personal communication, September 23, 2018).
The response of Beni, a watch seller at the Peunayong market, to the Chinese ethnicity was also good. The Chinese and the people of Aceh mingle comfortably. To strengthen friendships, they often hold cooperation activities in the alley where they sell, such as cleaning clogged sewers, cleaning up trash, etcetera. All these activities are carried out for the common good (Beni, personal communication, September 23, 2018 In fact, during a week of direct observation, the writer had never encountered Chinese children playing with children from Acehnese. Chinese children only play with each other, as well as Acehnese children. This interaction raises its tendency for people who pay attention to these social conditions. Not only children's groups, even adult groups, especially mothers, do not gather and talk together. The place to establish relations between the Chinese and Acehnese is the market where they trade in buying and selling. However, they also mingle with This interaction should not be done because the Gampong/government has provided an official church and monastery for ethnic Chinese to worship. According to Tgk Ridwan, if the minority religions increase their places of worship, then something that is not right will happen to the majority religion. Moreover, of course, religious minorities have bad intentions. Tgk Ridwan assumes that non-Muslims will spread their beliefs, which is fatal for the younger generation in Aceh regarding faith. Behind this, there are also many Chinese who have converted to Islam. Furthermore, the Gampong apparatus will make a special agenda for converts, such as lectures, meals, and so on (T. Ridwan, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
Another negative response emerged from a book and newspaper seller at the Peunayong market named Mr. Safrizal. His response to the Chinese ethnicity was that several Chinese people in Gampong Peunayong were unfriendly and unsociable. Not even to say hello. Even though he opened the conversation several times, the response from a small number of ethnic Chinese was not very good (Safrizal, personal communication, September 18, 2018).
Regarding his comfort in living with Chinese ethnicity, it is also similar. A small number of people of Chinese ethnicity do not respect the religious activities of the Acehnese people, for example, when the time for Friday prayers has arrived. These