The Jakarta Post, August 14, 2006
Scholars warn government of latent jihadi danger
Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The government should take all the necessary measures to prevent Indonesian jihadis
from leaving for Lebanon or they will only create more problems when they return
home, Muslim scholars say.
"If they could really make it to Lebanon and survive the war, they would become
problems when they come back to Indonesia," Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic
University rector Azyumardi Azra told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
"They would have the aura and charisma of fighters. This would be make it easier for
them to recruit new militants."
Azyumardi urged the government to boost security measures around border areas to
ensure that no militants left the country.
"It should also coordinate with neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore
and Thailand, to check if some Indonesian jihadis have transited there," he said.
Azyumardi said Indonesians heading to Middle Eastern cities such as Abu Dhabi,
Doha, Amman and Damascus should also be monitored.
However, he said the government should not ban hard-liners from expressing their
willingness to go on a jihad. "We just have to make sure that nobody leaves," he said.
The issue was not merely prohibiting jihadis from going to war-torn Lebanon, but to
anticipate the growing radicalism among Indonesian Muslims, Azyumardi said.
"We must not let happen a repeat of when many Muslims went to Afghanistan to help
the Taliban fight the Soviets," he said.
Imam Samudra and Amrozi, two terrorists on death row for their key roles in the 2002
Bali bombings, were both trained for the Afghanistan war. Another hardline activist,
Suaib Didu, recently boasted that thousands of Indonesians had signed up for jihad in
Lebanon.
Militants who had returned from Afghanistan were also involved the bloody 2002
conflict between Muslims and Christians in Maluku.
Former Muhammadiyah chairman Ahmad Syafii Maarif said it was unwise for ulema to
encourage young Muslims to fight a holy war in Lebanon. "I think there is no wisdom
in doing so," he told the Post.
He said the brutal Israeli offensive into Lebanon should not lead to Indonesian
Muslims losing their heads. "I think whatever we do must be based on clear minds,"
he said.
However, Syafii doubted the recent conflict would boost militant movements in
Indonesia, arguing radicalism was mainly triggered by injustice and uncertainty. "The
country is not in a normal condition. When there is justice, radicalism will fade away
by itself."
Azyumardi said that joining the fight against Israel was akin to suicide and would only
further burden the people in Lebanon, including Hizbollah fighters.
Providing them with humanitarian aid would be much more useful, he said.
"I hope ulema could explain to the people that there is no use going there for jihad."
National Resilience Agency governor Muladi warned Thursday that jihad volunteers
were committing an illegal act and would not be protected under international law.
"They could be considered terrorists. If caught, they could be sent to Guantanamo
prison without trials," he said.
Didu, meanwhile, said he would continue recruiting jihadists, although Lebanese
Ambassador Hasan Muslimani said Friday that his country did not want or need
fighters from other countries.
"We're not defending Lebanon, we're defending the oppressed," Didu told the Post on
Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Mujahidin Council said it would formally ask for police and
the military to train jihadists before they departed to Lebanon. The hardline group has
vowed to send 500 jihadists and medics to the country.
The police have pledged to prevent all would-be fighters from leaving for Lebanon.
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