Aceh is located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. It is thought to have been in Aceh where Islam was first established in Southeast Asia. In the early 17th century the Sultanate of Aceh was the most wealthy; powerful and cultivated state in the Malacca Straits region. Aceh province now has the highest proportion of Muslims in Indonesia and has regional levels of Sharia law.

Aceh has a history of political independence and fierce resistance to control by outsiders; including the former Dutch colonists and the Indonesian government. Aceh has substantial natural resources; including oil and natural gas鈥攕ome estimates put Aceh gas reserves as being the largest in the world.