FrontPageMagazine.com, January 2, 2006
Symposium: Indonesian Jihad
By Jamie Glazov
Militant Islam is gaining ground in Indonesia, the world's most populous mostly
Muslim nation. This development is of crisis proportions, since Indonesia plays a
crucial role in guaranteeing security in Asia. This year's second Bali terror attack was
only the symbol of Islamism's skyrocketing war on the country. Indeed, jihadists are
intensely concentrating on annihilating any non-Muslim presence in Indonesia. The
Ulema Council, the highest Islamic authority, has issued a fatwa condemning
religious diversity. Christian churches have been closed and a law has been passed
discriminating against non-Muslim schools. Three Christian girls were beheaded
earlier this year.
The growing Jihad in Indonesia is directly connected to Islamist terror in the
Philippines and Thailand, forming a deadly terror network in the Far East. The
leadership of the Indonesian jihadist group Jemaah Islamiyah is terrifyingly clear in its
intent, proudly bearing the motto: "Death in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration."
In light of these dire circumstances, we ask the questions: How stable is Indonesia?
What is the real dimension of Islamism there? What will happen if Indonesia falls?
How would it impact Australia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and even China?
To discuss these and oth! er questions with us today, Frontpage has assembled a
distinguished panel. Our guests today are:
Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, the author of Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. He is
head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the
Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies in Singapore;
Badrus Sholeh, the head of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Syarif
Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta;
Andrew Cochran, the Founder & Editor of The Counterterrorism Blog. He is Vice
President of GAGE, a business consulting and government affairs firm headquartered
in Washington, DC. and advises clients on terrorism and homeland security,
corporate governance, and appropriations issues;
and
Walid Phares, a Professor of Middle East Studies and Senior Fellow with the
Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. He is the author of the new book Future
Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America.
FP: Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Badrus Sholeh, Andy Cochran and Walid Phares, welcome
to Frontpage Symposium.
Andrew Cochran, let me begin with you. I think a good place to start is with the recent
second strike against Bali. What was its significance? And what does it say about
the state of jihad in Indonesia?
Cochran: The significance of the second Bali bombings is that (a) Jemaah Islamiyah
is alive and capable, and (b) the Indonesian government's refusal to recognize the
dangers of Islamic extremism and to outlaw JI has come back to bite them.
We have yet another lesson that a government that intentionally blinds itself to the
excesses of the worst strains of Islam, and fails to protect its citizenry from Islamist
extremists who pursue terrorism.
In September 2004, the newly elected president continued the policies of his
predecessors and announced that he would ban JI only after he had proof that the
organization exists, since it "is not a formal organization with card-carrying
members." And the former foreign minister of Australia pronounced Jemaah Islamiyah
(JI) virtually dead and gone during the very week of the second bombings.
Meanwhile, Islamist parties of one kind or another have gained in recent parliamentary
elections, led by PKS, which has its roots in the Muslim Brotherhood and is
committed to sharia and to imposing Islamic law. The spiritual leader of PKS, Hidayat
Nur Wahid, is now the speaker of the upper ho! use of the parliament. This senior
official in the Indonesian government had the gall to blame the second bombings on
"interstate competition in the tourism industry," in effect a sanction of murder.
The damage to JI since the first Bali bombings should not have been assumed to have
relieved the dangers from either JI or other Islamist extremist groups. Counterterrorism
Blog contributor Zachary Abuza, who never accepted the hypothesis that JI had
melted away, listed eight reasons why JI is still alive in a post on October 12.
Other Islamists, such as FPI, have engaged in aggressive recruiting and overt
anti-Christian activities, such as the forced closing of churches. As long as the
current government refuses to outlaw JI, and as long as the speaker of one of the
elected houses of parliament leads the obfuscation of Islam and of terrorist attacks,
the broader cause of jihad is also alive and well.
FP: Thank you Mr. Cochran. Mr. Sholeh?
Sholeh: Is there any positive fallout from the recent Indonesian elections of 2004 and
2005? Indonesia has actually turned into the most democratic Muslim nation in the
world. The elections of 2004 and 2005 proved it, with participation of more than 80
percent of potential voters. This is something positive. However, after the collapse of
New Order and the weakening of Indonesian Armed Forces, some Muslim militias
expressed their identity within what they call a 'secular state'. The Afghan war created
regional militant and Islamist group of Jama'ah Islamiah, which founded 'a war project'
in the two most conflicting regions of Maluku and Poso from 2000-2005, for breeding,
recruitment, training and preparation before their bigger plan.
Stability became worse after the economic crisis and during Susilo Bambang
Yudoyono government's unproductive policy of raising fuel price. Civil society including
Islamic organizations suppor! ted the radical groups like Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia
and KPPSI of South Sulawesi gained stronger position. The key answer is the
security forces' role and regional cooperation to oppose the growth of the radical and
terrorist groups.
Because of the ambivalence of government, Jama'ah Islamiah has greater capability to
run bigger attacks with their new approaches on every level of operation. Security
forces have found that some radical groups like Laskar Mujahidin, KOMPAK Solo and
Laskar Jundullah have played a role in bringing Jama'ah Islamiah influence in local
regions of Maluku and Poso to fight against infidels (Christians) for more than three
years. Government with anti-terror laws can ban these groups.
However, what Mr. Cochran calls the rise of political Islam under the leadership of
PKS push nationalist politicians such as Susilo Bambang Yudoyono and more over
Yusuf Kalla of Golkar to preserve their relation with Muslim constituents, who do not
understand how those radical organization played a role on terrorism in cooperation
with Jama'ah Islamiah. In Maluku and Poso, Muslim politicians who attempted to be
neutral and oppose Islamist groups lost their positions in Parliament in the district
elections of 2005.
I have been doing fieldwork in these two regions and have met local Muslims
influenced by these radical groups. Some of the local elite have been involved with
Jama'ah Islamiah, especially the ones from Laskar Mujahidin and KOMPAK networks.
It is easy for Jama'ah Islamiah to attack tourism areas like Bali, and west embassies
in Jakarta and other diplomatic buildings in Surabaya. They have had enough new and
fresh Syahid (martyrs). Police say there are about 30 new syahid ready to blow
themselves up with a new approach, many more than they had previously. A former
Darul Islam activist says there are more than 500 new volunteers for syahid are ready.
If Bali Bomb II has a better attack and strategy than Bali Bomb I, in which Indonesian
police could not identify the terrorists more clearly and quickly, how about the next
attack?
Gunaratna: To combat terrorism in Indonesia, we need to think strategically and ask
Indonesians to think strategically. The political media and public attention is still
fixated on Bali II. As usual, a brill! iant after the event investigation will lead to a few
arrests and a trial, but it will not change the strategic picture in Indonesia and the
Southern Philippines. Making a difference in the East Asian environment now that is
changing in favor of Islamic militancy does not rest with law enforcement but with
action-oriented visionary leadership.
As long as jihadism is not proactively contai! ned, the radical Islamic schools
[madaris] in Indonesia are not reformed, and the training camps in the Philippines not
shut down, the threat of terrorism will persist. In the post Bali II environment, the
vulnerability of East Asia to terrorism will increase due to four reasons:
First, a highly effective and a contagious tactic, suicide terrorism, having entered the
region, will stay with us for a long time. Unless ideologically and operationally
contained, the suicide threat will spread from Indonesia to its immediate neighbors
and beyond.
Second, 47 threat groups in different stages of development now operate in the region.
By aggressively exploiting the democratic space created after 1998 and the constant
images of the suffering Muslims in Iraq, the Indonesian Jihadi movement is gathering
in strength, size and influence.
Thi! rd, the relationship between a decentralized Al Qaeda and both Indonesian and
Philippine jihad groups are continuing. From outside the region, finance (primarily from
Saudi Arabian financiers of jihad), trainers and technology are continuing to flow into
the region. Although many Arab jihadists have been arrested in the region, the linkage
between JI and Al Qaeda is robust.
Fourth, Iraq is having a profound impact on the radicalized and the politicized
Muslims. By exploiting the anger and the suffering of the Muslims, including that of
moderate Muslims, existing terrorist and the extremist groups are growing and new
groups are emerging. A potential strategic defeat for America in Iraq in the coming
years is likely to embolden the Asian terrorist and extremist groups even further.
Unless the ideologues, operatives, financiers, and supporters of jihad are interlocked
and challenged ideologically, tactically, financially, and politically, the threat of
terrorism and extremism will escalate in East Asia. What is the real threat to East
Asia from terrorism? Will terrorism grow in Southeast Asia and eventually spread to
Northeast Asia affecting Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo? Future Threat
reduction is dependent on three initiatives:
First, operationally to dismantle the networks by target! ing individual terrorists and
their assets. Counter terrorism legislation is gravely needed to empower the police to
use direction action to preventively dismantle the terrorist propaganda, recruitment,
fund raising, procurement and other support activity
Second, ideologically for the Indonesian political leaders to build a norm and an ethic
in society against politico-religiously inspired and instigated violence.
Third, to change the reality on the ground by negotiating to resolve protracted ethnic
and religious conflicts. In the region, conflict zones such as Mindanao, Maluku and
Poso produced suffering, displacement, refugee flows, formation of extremist
ideologies, and production of extremists and terrorists.
Phares: I agree with my colleagues on their description of Jihadism in Indonesia and
its projection in the near future. I also value the analysis of the importance of local
politics on the growth of Islamism and penetration by the international and national
groups of local Islamist networks.
Let me take the route from inside al Qaida's mind into what would be their strategy in
Indonesia, or actually for Indonesia and the region. While I agree that events in Iraq
and elsewhere, "increase" the level of mobilization among potential recruits and
"encourage" pre- existing entities, we all know that Jihadism is not an emanation of
sudden developments.
We all know that the process to become a Jihadist, is long and tenuous. It needs a
Salafi-Wahabi environment to be produced. The question in Indonesia is this: Who is
producing the "ideological culture" out of which Jama'ah Islamiah came from? What
are the structural webs that produced Laskar Mujahidin (or Laskar e Jihad), or Laskar
Jundullah or even the Sulawesi-based Mujahedeen KOMPAK?
These questions are crucial to answer for it would determine the strategy to counter,
contain and reverse Jihadism in the largest Muslim country in the world. For if the
entire strategy is either security-based (arrests, disruption and justice action) or
politically based (absorption, engagement and cooption) it would fail on the long run.
Islamists, and particularly Jihadists are very sophisticated and have demonstrated
their ability to outmanoeuvre and outsmart the actions by politicians or generals.
If pressed by the central Government, they can revert to inflaming Maluku and Poso
with ethno-religious strife. They can play on the local politics of Mindanao, etc. The
pyramid of Jihadism starting with al Qaida internationally, JI nationally and the other
regional groups has a panoply of tools to escape Governmental action, which is late,
heavy and based on a complex level of political consensus.
The main problem however is the capability of the Jihadist conglomerate to trigger
past experiences and focus on current internal wounds. Ben Laden was fast enough
two ! years ago to denounce the United Nations "infidel" aggression in East Timor.
This accusation, not understood by the international community, is a message to
Indonesia's general nationalist and Muslim public, carried by the Islamists: No more
East Timors.
Hence, the Jihadi "Laskars" around t! he archipelago are projecting themselves as the
"protectors" of the territorial unity of "Muslim Indonesia." Hence their action against
non-Muslims, including in Poso, the Celebes, etc is projected as "in the interest of
the nation." They are trying to emulate Hassan Turabi's strategy in Sudan: the
defense of Islam's lands.
From that angle, when al Qaida orders strikes against Western-symbols in the
country, for instance Bali I and II, it knows it is playing the Jihadist versus Kafir
(infidel) equation. The subcontractors of terror, JI for example are projecting
themselves as the sword of the Islamist movement in Indonesia with a legitimate
blessing from the international command. The response of the Indonesian state is
therefore limited in its scope: an all out war by any Government against the Jihadists
(who are claiming the defense of Indonesia's Islamic idencity) is very difficult. At best
it is limited. Add to it the uncertainty as to the Salafi influence inside the arme! d
forces. As in Pakistan, no one really knows its extent. It was reported that Laskar
Jihad has had significant alliances within the armed forces in its holy wars against the
"infidels" at the end of the 1990s. The next question is what could be done?
The answer to that question begins with this: who in Indonesia wants to confront
Jihadism's real roots: the Islamist Salafi ideology? Is there a sufficient political
coalition across the land which would back an all out campaign? A large group of
legislators, members of the cabinet, intellectuals, journalists, officers and political
parties that can articulate an anti-Jihadist agenda? Is there a plan regarding the
alternatives to the madrassas? Is there enough media ready to engage? So far, these
questions need to be answered by the Indonesian experts so that a geopolitical
design is put together.
Cochran: I appreciate the wise observations here that there must be a greater
appreciation of the ties between the local elites and the international jihadists, and a
greater effort to supplant those ties with "a norm and an ethic in society against
politico-religiously inspired and instigated violence" (quoting Dr. Gunaratna). The
long-term challenge in Indonesia, as it is wherever the jihadists appear, is to attract
local populations to a non-violent and tolerant Islamic cultural which promises
personal fulfillment. The jihadists' social activism must be matched and exceeded by
moderate Islamic clerics, businessmen, and government.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the current worldwide conflict is that the
decades of experienc! e of Muslims in the U.S., which has been marked by
assimilation and peaceful relations with non-Muslims, is never reported overseas. The
very culture that my colleagues suggest as necessary in Islamic countries already
exists here - there are no pillaged mosques, no Muslims assaulted in the streets for
their faith, and no flood of legal cases for discrimination against Muslims in hiring or in
business.
Sholeh: I agree with Dr. Rohan that there is a close association among international,
national and local issues and movements related to terrorism. I would like to broaden
the issues and provide my argument from Indonesian experience and the Indonesian
perspective.
Indonesian Muslims believe the U.S. and its allies have a double-standard concerning
Palestine-Israel policies and the failure of the Iraq war and other policies, which
Muslims argue is against their interests. This is an easy reason for radical and
terrorist groups to recruit new members under such international issues. Imam
Samudra (2004), one of the Bali I bombers, states that US allies' failed policies
against Middle Eastern Muslims inspired his group to fight against infidels in
Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
His book, entitled 'Aku Melawan Teroris! [I am against Terrorism] has become a
popular text for recruitment. I also agree th! at Indonesian government and neighbors
have to restrain the growth of radical Islamic movements. However, some of them
were founded under support of Indonesian elite, such as the Laskar Jihad and Islamic
Defenders Front foundations, which claim to strengthen Indonesian government and
security to fight against separatism.
They found volunteers to bring Jihad to Maluku and Poso from 1999 to 2002. Their
members are even still active on the ground without any significant security from
Indonesian Police and TNI. Some current researches of ICG and others argue that
they are less dangerous compared to Laskar Mujahidin and Jama'ah Islamiah. The
latest two groups certainly continue their underground Jihad, although some Jihadists
have been arrested after Bali Bombing II. Dr. Azhari (killed in Malang, East Java
November 2005) has taught young members of JI to produce bombs. It is
strengthened by the on going movemen! ts and recruitments of Nurdin M. Top. The
young JI elite members have extensive terror training in Mindanao, Southern
Philippines, Poso and Maluku.
Previously they became members of Muslim organizations: MMI, KPPSI, Brigades of
PII and NII. They grow from central and local regions of Indonesia, without any
government policy to close such a breeding organization. These organizations also
instituted a number of Islamic schools and Pesantrens. They will be stronger if
governments do not take a significant policy! to reform such organizations and
schools.
Certainly, the majority of Muslim organizations and schools are moderate and against
terrorism. However, they need a strong policy from Indonesian and international
governments to fight against radical groups.
FP: I am not sure what "failure" you are referring to in terms of the Iraq war. We
liberated a country from a fascist dictator and are now building democracy in a region
marked by authoritarianism and brutality. We have also taken the fight to the terrorists
in a war th! at they have declared on us. But this is another debate.
Dr. Gunaratna go ahead.
Gunaratna: Until I moved to Southeast Asia from Europe in 2002, I was under the
impression that th! e most important quality needed to fight terrorism is intelligence.
Today, I am convinced that even with good intelligence we will fail unless we have
political leadership. In the fight against terrorism, the most important quality is
leadership - in another words, political will and political capital.
With visionary leadership, you can anticipate threats and defeat them before they
affect you. With a goal oriented leadership you can defeat any terrorist or extremist
movement. This is what is gravely lacking in Southea! st Asia.
FP: So what kind of leadership exactly do we need in Southeast Asia, Dr. Phares?
Phares: When it come to the analysis of Indonesian micro politics, I'd defer of course
to the political scientists, journalists and analysts with advanced expertise in the
political history of the country. But from the perspective of comparative politics and
more precisely the angle of international Jihadism, here are some points:
a) One has to examine how the Jihadists (call them Islamists if you wish) got to the
point of vast networks and high influence. How come they have been able to produce
leadership that can sustain several suppressive waves and maintain a trend of penetr!
ation of the Indonesian layers of power and culture?
If we understand this road, we can begin to understand the possible other alternatives.
Why is it that the Islamists have produced their own "leaders" while the national
leaders and politicians of Indonesia, although good Muslims, aren't viewed by the
experts as visionaries and goal oriented? I may not have all the answers, but at leas! t
I would indicate the analytical path we should be exploring.
b) If we agree that at the end of the day, in Indonesia and around the Muslim world,
the networks of madrassas are the chief producer of militants, what can be done to
address that issue? Can politicians touch the madrassas without severe
consequences? Can reform come from governing bodies, from politicians or courts?
Answering this question is crucial. It would show us the real equation not just in
Indonesia, but also in the region as a whole.
c) And if I can take the issue to a wider scope, learning from the Indonesian crisis, I'd
ask: can Wahabism be reversed? Can Salafism be reversed? And how?
I can fully understand my colleagues when they raise the objections made by many in
Indonesia, but also in Bengladesh, Malaysia and elsewhere that "the US is seen as a
supporter of Israel, therefore we cannot trust Washington." This is an argument
produced by the Islamists from the Middle East who wish to see it spreading around
the Muslim world. It is the classical argument that allowed the Islamists to dodge their
responsibilities in answering harder questions about the future they intend to bring.
Several times, I went on al Jazeera and challenged my interlocutors. I asked them
openly: what is the alternative, the system you wish establish on the Umma's lands?
There were no significant answers. For the simple reason that they hide behind the
anti-American paradigm, but can't reveal theirs. What is needed is a current of thought
that would engage the Jihadis openly, and drive them to debate their own ideas and
views.
Indonesia could become an important testing ground for this challenge.
Sholeh: I will respond some issues and questions raised by Phares and Gunaratna on
how the visionary leadership may overcome radicalism and terrorism, how the Jihadist
could be involved in national parties or civil organizations, what the impact of for peace
building, the process of democracy and how it will be pivotal that schools and other
prospective institutions discontinue their violence-oriented organizations.
The partic! ipation of the Jihadist or Islamist community in public and political sectors
is crucial to reducing radicalism and terrorism. Peter Wallensteen (2004: 146) calls
this as a power sharing arrangement, which puts the existing leaders securely in the
political process. They may oppose working with government but they may engage in
future building for their community. Democracy is the best choice, and it is appealing
to them to have their voices represented in the national parties. Former local
Mujahidin and Jihad commanders in Maluku and Poso of Indonesia have become
involved in Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Development United Party (PPP) or have
been appointed as community/ public leaders (after conflicts of 1999-2002) in 2004
direct elections.
This also happens in Afghan, where former combat commanders are accommodated
by new government under democratic philosophy. This may answer Phares' first
question on how we can transform Islamist leaders under democratic government.
Under civil or political organizations, government can steer their intelligence agents
into such groups to manage and control the vision and orientation of the leadership.
They have strengthened themselves into international network of Islamic parties and
organizations: PAS of Malaysia, Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt and Salafist
organizations in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Their cooperation is alright unless they
support violent activities, terrorism or other crimes. Dr. Gunaratna's reflection of
visionary leadership will enhance the b! roader participation of multicultural society in
Southeast Asia context.
The next step is continuing to promote peace within religious communities. To assure
them that terrorism and violence (read: attacks, suicide bombs and killings) are
crimes. My interviews with former Mujahidin commanders in Maluku and Poso refer to
how they finally realized that their actions were against Islamic principles. The
Indonesian government has just promoted the true meaning of Jihad among Muslims.
Similarly, Muslim scholars of Al Azhar University have made strong authoritative
declarations against bin Laden's initiatives: 'Islam provides clear rules and ethical
norms that forbid the killing of non-combatants, as well as women, children, and the
elderly' (Esposito, 2002: 158). Most Muslim Ulama declare that suicide bombs are
against the principles of Islam.
To bring peace, policy should focus on multi-faith and multicultural dialogues and
encourage Islamic civil ! society organizations and schools to open their perspectives
on general interest issues like reducing poverty and developing education (as
education is power). It has been more than a hundred years since Pesantren
integrated the local cultures of Indonesia. This experience is identical in Southern
Thailand and Malaysia.
Only a limited number, approximately less than 1 percent of all schools, teach radical
and militant interpretations of Islam. Among them are Pesantren Al Mukmin Ngruki,
Solo, Central Java and Al Irsyad of Central Java. They grew significantly after the
return of Afghan veterans. The Afghan war and participation of Jihadist groups in the
war allowed their veterans to develop new Pesantren (Islamic schools/ madrasas)
within their home countries. It is challenging not o! nly for government but also the
dominant and mainstream Islamic civil society organizations to reduce the negative
impact of the radical Jihadist groups.
Salafism teaching is still strange among most Muslims even in conflicting regions like
Maluku and Poso, moreover in peaceful regions of Java and Sumatra. In Maluku, local
Muslims opposed the teaching and tradition of Salafism among Laskar Jihad
members. Mainstream CSOs are important instruments for us to stop the growth of
radicalism and certainly terrorism. Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah - argued as
having at least 70 and 40 millions members each - are among those committed to
promote peace and denounce any kind of radicalism and violence.
Gunaratna: The trends in Indonesia are not very different to global trends. Although in
Indonesia there is an acute absence of a visionary leadership particularly counter
terrorist leadership, this is a global problem. Unless we plan for the long term we will
suffer and perhaps fail in some parts of the world. It is inevitable that in Palestine! and
Egypt, the Jihadists and the Islamists will come to power.
We need to build greater support worldwide to fight terrorism and extremism. At a
global level, fighting terrorism and extremism is 50% of the battle. The remaining 50%
must focus on educating ones own staff particularly leaders. We must develop
specialist in-house courses for staff particularly leaders so that governments will do
the right thing and not overreact like the US invasion of Iraq.
Finally, we need to work in partnership as we are facing a global threat that is
growing. We need to draw the Europeans and other nations whose commitment is
weak to fight terrorism and extremism to be partners. We also need the rich nations
of the global north to work closely with poor nations of the global south and share the
burden of counter terrorism.
FP: It boggles my mind how we just saw more successful elections in Iraq and
instead of pointing out what a great thing Bush did by bringing democracy to that
country and that part of the world, which is a great blow to our Jihadist enemies, the
only comment some individuals can make about Iraq is how the U.S. liberation of the
nation is an "overreaction."
In any case, Dr. Phares, last word goes to you.
Phares: All depends on how you see the big picture. To those among us who believe
that time was on the side of the international society, including after the collapse of
the Taliban, Iraq's invasion is an "overreaction." But to those whose analysis
concluded, and I am one of them, t! hat Global Jihadism was at the edge of rolling
over in the Muslim world and wreck havoc in the West, the regime change in Iraq -or
any alternative US reaction- was late, very late.
If you look at the infrastructure of the Jihadists, Salafists and Khomeinists since the
early 1990s, you'd realize that their combined networks, regimes, penetrations, ! were
thrusting forward. In my book, Future Jihad, I make the case that both 9/11 and the 2
US reactions, have readjusted the balance, but not yet turned the tide.
As far as containing and absorbing the Jihadists of Indonesia, I'd defer to the experts
on micro Indonesian politics, but based on my own interviews of Muslim and Christian
activists of the islands-nation, and on my Jihad-analysis, one must make a distinction
between containment and reform.
There are many recipes for the so-called integration and cooptation of the Salafists
and Jihadists in the political process. This was the theory of the 1990s in America
(Esposito, Entelis, MESA, etc). However, evidence shows that while initiatives were
developed to absorb the Jihadis, or even Islamists into the democratic process, it
ended up having the Islamists (Salafists in Indonesia and Arabia and Khomeinists as
in Lebanon) penetrating the system and slowly absorbing its energies.
In this conflict, the objective is the reformation of the Muslim world not the
accommodation of the Jihadists. My take, both for Indonesia and the other cases
(Iraq, Egypt, etc) is that international efforts should be focused certainly to fighting
terrorism relentlessly, but in parallel, providing open support to the reformists. Only
then can we win the long term war for the soul of the Islamic world.
FP: Dr. Rohan Gunaratna, Badrus Sholeh, Andy Cochran and Walid Phares, thank
you for joining Frontpage Symposium.
Jamie Glazov is Frontpage Magazine's managing editor. He holds a Ph.D. in History
with a specialty in Soviet Studies. He edited and wrote the introduction to David
Horowitz's new book Left Illusions. He is also the co-editor (with David Horowitz) of the
new book The Hate America Left and the author of Canadian Policy Toward
Khrushchev's Soviet Union (McGill-Queens University Press, 2002) and 15 Tips on
How to be a Good Leftist. To see his previous symposiums, interviews and articles
Click Here. Email him at jglazov@rogers.com.
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