JEMAAH ISLAMIAH- The Indonesia based terrorist organisation.

South Asia Analysis Group

Paper no. 746

28. 07. 2003

JEMAAH ISLAMIAH- The Indonesia based terrorist organisation.

by C.S Kuppuswamy

“Indonesian terrorism is clearly bigger than we thought and there are more little groups than we thought. It covers the entire country - that is the scary thing”

-Sydney Jones of the International Crisis Group (FEER December 19, 2002)

Since Independence Indonesia had witnessed a number of sectarian clashes and violence through freedom   movements. However it is only the Bali bombings of October 2002,   that has alerted the government of the prevalent terrorist trends   and activities in the country. The arrests of the   Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members (Indonesians) in the neighbouring countries have also embarrassed the government.

JI the Al-Qaeda linked militant group is the main suspect for the Bali bombings of October 2002. Attention of the international media is again focused on the JI as its alleged leader Abu Bakar Bashir is now under trial in Jakarta from 23 April, 2003 for treason. He is charged for having plotted to overthrow the Indonesian Government and for being involved in a series of church bombings in December 2000. JI is included in the list of   terrorist organizations of the United States and the United Nations.

The Past

The   words JI means Islamic Community. The JI had its beginnings at the village level for resisting the increasing influences of the secular world and for the devout Muslims of Indonesia to practice their religion according to the tenets. By the end of the last century it had transformed itself into a militant revolutionary force taking upon them the task of elimination of all Western influences. The ultimate aim of this organization is to have a Pan-Islamic state covering Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and some parts of southern Philippines. Abu Bakar Bashir is the alleged spiritual leader of JI though he has denied it.

Organisation and Activities

Ahmed Sajuli, a witness in the trial of Abu Bakar Bashir has indicated that the headquarters of JI was in Malaysia. It was moved to Indonesia only in 1999 when its founder Abdullah Halim died and Bashir took over the leadership.

The total membership of JI is still uncertain though Indonesian police estimate that the strength of JI in Indonesia is approximately 2000. An ABC Asia-Pacific profile of this group in April 2003 indicates that the Malaysian cells alone of this group may comprise 200 members.

An Asociated Press report referred to by Teresa Cerojano of Manila indicates that the JI is a “well connected, sophisticated group which uses modern technology, such as mobile phones and e-mail to communicate and whose members have had extensive training.

The report also indicates that JI has three main cells operating in South East Asia and has links with other Muslim radical groups such as the Al-Qaeda and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of Philippines.   These cells are called the “mantiqis”.

The Mantiqi 1 or M1 based in Malaysia covers Malaysia (except Sarawak and Sabah), Singapore and Southern Thailand. The M 2 covers all Indonesia except Sulawesi and Kalimantan. The M 3 covers Borneo, Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

The members of these cells have been exposed to the use of security, tradecraft and operate with code words and code numbers. Some of the members have had training in Islamic schools in Pakistan, in camps in Afghanistan, Philippines and Indonesia.

JI began developing plans in 1997 to target   US interests in Singapore and in 1999 conducted video taped surveillance of US targets in preparation for multiple attacks in Singapore. In 2001 Singapore authorities arrested 15 JI members , some of whom had been trained in Al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan who had planned to attack US, UK, Australian and Israeli diplomatic buildings in Singapore.

The JI is being blamed for the December 2000 bombings of churches in which 19 persons died and for the Bali bombings of October 2002 in which over 200 people (of different nationalities) died. According to Indonesian police 34 suspected members of JI have been arrested till June 21, 2003 of which three are under trial.

Malaysia and Singapore are said to have arrested over 100 people linked to JI .(BBC)

Riduan Isamuddin alias Hambali is being considered as the Operations chief of the JI at the time of the December 2000 bombings. He is believed to be Osama bin Laden’s pointman in South East Asia. He is also alleged to have ordered some other JI members to carry out the Bali bombings. He is still at large.

Abu Bakar Bashir

Abu Bakar Bashir is a 64 year old Muslim cleric from Central Java. He is a school teacher and founder of the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Solo (Central Java) which has more than 2000 students. The youth are being prepared to defend Muslims against infidels with main emphasis on Jihad. The school is run more on the lines of the “madrassas” of Pakistan.

He is also the leader of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) which aims to convert Indonesia into an Islamic State. He denies being the emir (leader) of the JI and also of his involvement in any of the crimes including the Bali bombings. Sydney Jones of the International Crisis Group describes him as “ the social lynchpin of the network, the person who connects everybody else”.

In 1978 he was convicted of subversion against the autocratic government of Indonesia under Suharto’s rule. He escaped to Malaysia in 1985 at the appeals stage and returned to Indonesia only in 1999 after Suharto stepped down.

He has made statements in the recent past conveying his hatred towards President Megawati as she is serving the US interests and that she is not a good Muslim. He also blamed her government for being secular and for the acceptance of US aid for anti terrorism which was a great disaster for the Muslims. He had also praised Osama bin Laden as a true “Islamic warrior” but denies any links with him or Al-Qaeda.

His popularity in the country can be gauged by the fact that he was voted Man of the year last year by “Sabili” – the widely read and influential news magazine of Indonesia. His apparent political clout has put the government on the defensive in apprehending him . The government resisted demands by the US and other Western governments to take action against him till he was first arrested in October 2002.

Links with Al-Qaeda and other organizations.

The JI’s links with Al-Qaeda, the MILF,   the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia, Laskar Jihad and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council have come to light from various reports and the interrogation reports of JI suspects apprehended in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. John Mcbeth writes (FEER 17, July 2003) that “the majority (of the JI) appear to be alumni of MILF in the southern Philippines where intelligence reports say as many as 700 Indonesians were trained in 1997-98".

An Associarted Press report from Philippines indicated that “Osma bin Laden planned in 2000 to move the base of his Al-Qaeda operations from Afghanistan to Aceh (Indonesia). Two of his aides even visited the area and commented on the lax security and extent of support of the Muslim population”. The report even mentioned that JI had received financial aid of US $ 40,000from Al-Qaeda over the last three years.

Kumar Radhakrishna, an Assistant Professor of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Singapore in an article on JI explains that one of the characteristics of radical Islam espoused by the JI’s leadership is its external orientation. Leaders like Abdullah Sungkarr, Hambali,Abu Jibril and Ibrahim Maidin all spent time in Afghanistan. Because of this formative Afghan experience of its key leaders JI has acted like a regional agency of Al-Qaeda.

Conclusion

Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim nation. The majority of the Muslims are political moderates and liberal Muslims.   Despite this if Islamic militancy, which was suppressed under the rule of Suharto, has sprung up and gaining strength   it is a matter of serious concern for the present government.

The Islamic movement in Indonesia is playing a dual role on both the political and the militancy front simultaneously. The MMI has taken the responsibility of politically influencing the government and has had meetings with the Vice-President Hamza Haz who has openly admitted that he shares some of the views of the MMI and is more sympathetic to its cause.

On the militancy front, the Islamic movement through organizations such as the JI and Lakshar Jihad have funded para military groups which have instigated and perpetrated sectarian conflicts, attacked churches and curbed other Western influences on the country.

The Government is faced with a legal predicament in not banning this organization (JI) as it is not a legally registered organization. Banning it amounts   to recognizing the existence of this organization. The police is also handicapped because of this loophole in apprehending the members of the JI.

Transition to democracy in Indonesia has been ridden with obstacles of which the Islamic militancy is the major one. The more open climate has facilitated the Islamic militants to function under the garb of political or religious activists. The Iraq war and the resultant anti American sentiments have also aided these terrorist groups.

The JI has become more of a threat to the South East Asian region than to Indonesia alone.   A recent bomb blast at the Indonesia’s parliament (14 July 2003) was the latest blow to the country grappling with Islamic militancy and separatist rebellion. Though this bomb attack was not attributed to the JI, the government felt that it might be a reaction to the arrest of 10 suspected members of JI involved in the church bombings of 2000. President Megawati is also soft pedaling in not taking any firm action because of the ensuing general elections in 2004.

JI with its links has all the potential of becoming a regional Islamic front on the lines of the International Islamic Front of Osama bin Laden. It is time the heads of state of the affected countries help and influence Indonesia to ensure that the situation does not go out of control. The US which is helping Philippines in this regard, should also support Indonesia both financially and militarily to weaken and liquidate the terrorist threat to this region.

Some experts on terrorism and fundamentalism are of the opinion that the most important and ultimate root cause of JI extremism is not socio-economic or political but ideological. Hence beyond law enforcement measures, neutralizing it must involve counter strategies in the political ideological and educational fields also.

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