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January 16, 2006

Indonesia: Islamists Are Lectured On Jihad

A report from the Jakarta Post states that hundreds of former members of the Islamist vigilante group Laskar Jihad attended a lecture in the Al-Fatah Grand Mosque in Ambon, eastern Indonesia (see map).

The lecture was given by Luqman Ba'abduh, an imam who is also an author. He wrote a book called Mereka Adalah Terrorists (They are terrorists). This was a rejoinder to the book Aku Melawan Terroris (I'm fighting terrorists) written by Imam Samudra. Samudra, a terrorist for Jemaah Islamiyah, is currently on death row for his part in the 2002 bombings at Bali, which killed 202 people.

Luqman Ba'abduh addressed his congregation on the subject of jihad and terrorism, in a two day-seminar. He began his lecture with mention of the Khawarij, also called the Kharijites, who emerged in the first century of the Mohammedan era, and committed acts of murder in the name of their interpretation of Islam.

The Kharijites are now cited by neo-Salafists and others to justify terrorism. Luqman said that the prophet Mohammed foretold the coming of the Kharjites as one of the 73 groups in Islam. Their ideology, despite opposition from the "followers of the Prophet" persisted. Luqman said people who espoused such beliefs gave themselves away by their behaviour, with emotional and foolish actions.

He said: "During the era of Khalifah Ali bin Abi Thalib, their power was built on support from 60,000 followers, who faced widespread opposition. However, their ideology and thoughts persist until now. Their ideology and actions along the course of history have taken millions of Muslim victims, including three of the Prophet's best friends, namely Umar bin Khattab, Usman bin Affan and Ali bin Abi Thalib."

(Thalib was the fourth Caliph, and had been called the "Lion of Allah" by the prophet Mohammed. Kharijitism started as a movement in 657 AD in the west of Maghreb or North Africa.)

Kharijitism or Khawarijism is still in a threat in the modern world, Luqman continued to explain. He said its followers believe they are divinely empowered to oppose those they call infidels, who often include other Muslims, and believed they had the right to overthrow governments.

He said they had a rallying cry of amar ma'ruf nahi munkar, a cry which calls for the enforcement of Sharia law, and used this statement to explain their actions. But he warned "However, the slogan is only a lie as it is done just to gain support from Muslims."

People who committed terror attacks and suicide attacks are subscribers to Khawarij ideology, and to be rid of them required a two-track approach. Their ideology should be publicly challenged, and physical force should make sure they were arrested.

What is slightly disturbing is the that the hundreds of former Lashkar Jihad members were still wearing their distinctive uniforms, of white robes and turbans.

The Lashkar Jihad officially disbanded by the start of 2003. That they should still be wearing a uniform, even if closely guarded by police, is worrisome. Laskar Jihad were prime movers in the sectarian war which engulfed the Moluccas, killing 9,000 people between 1999 and 2002.

We described a massacre which happened in a small village called Soya, outside Ambon City, which took place on Sunday April 28, 2002. Members of Laskar Jihad led an assault of this Christian village, with some of their atrocities captured on film. 21 people died, with small children and women hacked at with machetes and decapitated, and men beaten to death with staves, beheaded, and burned alive in their homes.

The leader of Laskar Jihad is 43 year old Yemeni-Indonesian Jaffar Umar Thalib (pictured). On Friday, 26 April, Thalib held a rally outside Al-Fatah Grand Mosque in Ambon, the same mosque where his followers now receive lectures on terrorism. He urged 5,000 members of Laskar Jihad: "From today, we will no longer talk about reconciliation. Our ... focus now must be preparing for war - ready your guns, spears and daggers." On the morning of Sunday 28, Soya was attacked.

What is curious is that some of the people in the film of the Soya massacre appear to be members of the Indonesian army, and when Jaffar Umar Thalib was taken to court, he was let off. He was charged with sowing hate in the Moluccas, but was acquitted.

This is the irony of the current well-intentioned lectures by Luqman Ba'abduh. Some, if not most, of the former Laskar Jihad members will have been activists in an illegal sectarian war, and some must have hacked at children at Soya. Yet they and their leader Thalib have received no retribution, and still wear their uniforms, as if they have never gone away. And poor Luqman Ba'abduh is saying that violent jihadists, neo-Kharjites, should be arrested. Maybe the judge who acquitted Thalib in 2003 should be the first recipient of such a lecture.

It is alleged that when Thalib set up Laskar Jihad in 1999, it was done with the backing of several mainstream politicians.

Some officers of the Indonesian military and national police were in attendance for the two day seminar, which is organised by the Abu Bakr Ash-Shiddiq Foundation.

FOOTNOTE: A particularly unpleasant phenomenon arose during the Islamist sectarian attacks upon Christians in the Moluccas conflicts . The Sydney Morning Herald of 27 January 2001 reported that on six islands affected by the conflict, 3,928 Christians were forced to convert to Islam with threats of violence.

During these forcible conversions, most were forcibly circumcised. These were males, young and old, and also females. The women who were "circumcised" included pregnant women, girls, women in their 70s and babies. Most of the forced circumcisions were carried out by Muslim clerics.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 16, 2006 10:27 PM

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Posted by: John Sobieski at January 17, 2006 12:05 AM

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