LAKSAMANA.Net, October 17, 2002 10:37 PM
First Laskar Jihad, Now FPI?
October 17, 2002 10:37 PM
Laksamana.Net - The disbandment of the paramilitary Laskar Jihad organization has
prompted speculation the radical Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) might follow suit amid
predictions of a crackdown on hardline Muslim groups in the wake of the Bali
bombings.
Police are currently detaining FPI leader Habib Rizieq on charges of instigating
violence and vandalism.
Rizieq showed up at Jakarta Police headquarters on at 9.30am Wednesday
(16/10/02) and was questioned until 11.45pm and then taken in custody.
He is being held for inciting his followers to attack nightspots and entertainment
venues in Jakarta over the past three years. If brought to trial he will face a maximum
sentence of five years and six months in prison.
FPI had long acted with impunity, but earlier this month police arrested more than a
dozen of the group's members following October 4 attacks on a pool hall and
nightclub in Jakarta's Chinatown.
Rizieq insists he is innocent, but critics say his followers repeatedly took the law into
their own hands and angered police by seeking protection money from nightspots.
Laskar Jihad, which also took the law into its own hands by waging holy wars against
Christians in the Maluku islands and Central Sulawesi province, on Tuesday
(15/10/02) announced it had disbanded.
The announcement came just days after the October 12 bombings that killed almost
200 people in Bali.
So far FPI has shown no signs of following suit, but analysts predict the arrest of
Rizieq will at least prompt the organization to become more low key.
Hundreds of moderate Muslims rallied against FPI in Jakarta on October 9, saying the
group's violent actions had tarnished the image of Islam.
Muslim leaders and politicians have hailed the disbandment of Laskar Jihad and are
expected to pressure FPI to also consider terminating its existence, although the
group is usually most active during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, which this
year starts on November 7.
Eggy Sudjana
The Indonesian Muslim Workers Brotherhood (PPMI) is one radical Islamic group that
appears highly unlikely to disband.
PPMI is led by lawyer Eggy Sudjana, who gained public prominence last year when
he defended Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib on charges of murder in the case
where a follower had been stoned to death for rape.
Sudjana is also notorious for his role in organizing paid demonstrations and the
‘civilian militias' that terrorized Jakarta residents in the years immediately after ex-president
Suharto's 1998 downfall.
On Thursday he condemned the Bali bombings as an un-Islamic act and expressed
doubt that any Indonesian Muslim groups were involved.
"We strongly condemn such despicable action. PPMI disagrees with the use of
violence for any reason, especially when most of the victims are innocent people," he
was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara.
"You know, I myself belong to those struggling constitutionally for the enactment of
Islam Sharia law. But I categorically oppose any use of violence for any purpose."
He pointed out that PPMI did not resort to violence during the August annual session
of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) when several Muslim groups
unsuccessfully demanded the constitution be amended to include Islamic law.
"Well, I take that political defeat as a lesson for a better struggle in the future. I will let
the public have a better understanding and horizon of the importance of Sharia Islam
through political education, not through violence. So once again, I condemn the Bali
bomb blast. It's not the Islamic way."
Sudjana lauded the involvement of foreign police and intelligence officials in the
investigation of the Bali bombings, saying Indonesian police lack sophisticated
investigative equipment.
Asked whether the foreign assistance was a threat to Indonesian sovereignty, he said:
"That's what you, the media people, are supposed to watch and criticize."
He said the investigation must be completely professional to disclose who was really
behind the "despicable bombings”.
Sudjana is currently representing Religious Affairs Minister Said Agil Munawar, who is
facing a lawsuit for illegally ordering the excavation of a historical site in West Java in
the hope of finding a fabled buried treasure.
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