Islamic criminal law in Aceh sharia courts hear and rule on both civil cases under Islamic law (such as divorce and inheritance) and criminal law under the "qanuns". However, civil cases continue to be the vast majority of cases heard by the court. In 2016 the courts received 10,888 first instance civil cases and 131 appeals, compared to 324 first instance criminal cases and 15 appeals. The sharia courts are part of the broader Indonesian legal system. Their decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court, and their judges (including the chief judge) are appointed by the Supreme Court. Amnesty International said that they are
Sharia requirements as American rabbinical courts have done. Fundamentalists, wishing to return to basic Islamic religious values and law, have in some instances imposed harsh sharia punishments for crimes, curtailed civil rights and violated human rights. Extremists have used the Quran and their own particular version of sharia to justify acts of war and terror against Muslim as well as non-Muslim individuals and governments, using alternate, conflicting interpretations of sharia and their notions of jihad. The sharia basis of arguments advocating terrorism is controversial. According to Bernard Lewis, "[a]t no time did the classical jurists offer any approval or legitimacy to