Crosswalk.com, December 12, 2002
Report: Anti-Christian Jihad Once Training Ground for SE Asian
Terrorists
Patrick Goodenough
Pacific Rim Bureau Chief
Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - October's bombing in Bali may represent a
shift in focus by al Qaeda-linked Islamic extremists in Indonesia, away from attacks
on Christians in the country and onto Western targets, according to a new report.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank also says a split
appears to have emerged within the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorist network, with
younger members seeking a more radical approach in response to the U.S.-led war
on terrorism.
The more militant younger leaders see older elements, like Muslim cleric and alleged
JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir, as not radical enough, and it's unlikely Bashir
himself masterminded attacks like Bali, it said.
The ICG report says the anti-Christian jihad in Maluku and Sulawesi provinces
provided the training ground for the new generation of extremists, fulfilling the function
Afghanistan had served for the earlier generation.
Previous bombings attributed to JI, like a series targeting churches in December
2000, were on the whole directly linked to the anti-Christian campaign.
Up to 10,000 people died in the conflicts in Maluku and Sulawesi's Poso area since
1999. Peace treaties negotiated in late 2001 and early this year have been honored on
the whole, despite some serious violations in Maluku.
The Islamic militia best known for its role in the fighting, Laskar Jihad, announced two
months ago that it was disbanding.
But it was a smaller and lesser-known force there, known variously as Laskar
Mujahidin (army of holy warriors) and Laskar Jundullah (army of Allah), that comprised
the JI contribution to the anti-Christian conflict.
Maluku and Poso provided JI recruiters with the motivation and means to sign up and
train rank-and-file members.
"Recruitment of foot soldiers was often preceded by discussions about Maluku and
Poso or the showing of videos about the killings taking place there," the report said.
"Those conflicts not only served to give concrete meaning to the concept of jihad, a
key element of JI's ideology, but also provided easily accessible places where recruits
could gain practical combat experience."
With the Maluku and Poso situations now calming, however, "the U.S.-led war on
terror now appears to have replaced Maluku and Poso as the main object of JI's
wrath."
The killing of more than 180 people, mostly westerners, in the Oct. 12 bombings in
Bali, may be indicative of that shift.
The ICG says JI has supporters in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern
Philippines.
Top strategists are mostly Indonesians living in Malaysia, many of whom had fought
with fundamentalist forces in Afghanistan - either against the Soviet occupation or
afterwards.
A second tier of trusted operatives serve as field coordinators while the bottom level -
those who carry out the attacks and risk arrest, injury or death - are generally
selected shortly before operations, often from among students at Islamic schools.
The ICG called for more resources to be put into Indonesian police investigations into
the JI network, with international help if possible.
"The Indonesian police have done a superb job thus far in the Bali investigations but
they're dealing with a large and amorphous network," said the group's Indonesia
project director, Sidney Jones.
She also urged Jakarta to "give more attention to addressing corruption in the police,
army and immigration service, with a particular attention to the trade in arms and
explosives."
Police investigating the Bali bombing have 15 suspects in custody, including a leading
JI operative who has confessed to planning the attack.
Bashir, the cleric suspected of being JI's spiritual leader, is being held separately in
Jakarta, accused of involvement in the 2000 church bombings and a plot to kill
President Megawati Sukarnoputri before she assumed that position.
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