IBRAHIM
ISAS FOCUS – Wednesday,
06
August 2014
INDONESIA'S RESPONSES TO THE ISIS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Invalidation
on
of citizenship of supporting ISIS
--- Democracy
in Indonesia, between ISIL and elections
---
Islamic State isn’t the real threat
--- The week in
review: Fearing ISIL ramifications
* * *
Invalidation
of citizenship of Indonesians supporting ISIS demanded
Rabu, 6 Agustus 2014 10:46 WIB | 302
Views
Saleh P. Daulay. (facebook.com)
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The
Muhammadiyah Youth organization urged the government to declare
invalid the citizenship of Indonesians supporting Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
There were 20 Indonesians, former terrorist convicts, had
reportedly left for Iraq to join ISIS.
"Firm measure is necessary to prevent them from returning to
Indonesia to spread their ideology," Saleh Partaonan Daulay, the
general chairman of the organization said.
All official documents in their hands should be revoked to
prevent them from using Indonesian passport, Saleh added. He
said police have claimed knowledge of the Indonesians joining
ISIS, therefore, it should be easy to take the necessary action.
The government has said ISIS is an illegal organization and its
ideology is prohibited in the country. The national anti
terrorist agency (BNPT) even calls ISIS a terrorist
organization, an offspring of Al-Qaeda. BNPT chief Ansyaad Mbai
was quoted as saying tens of terrorist suspects were recently
nabbed in Bima, Poso and Bengkulu - all sworn members of
ISIS.Mbai, therefore, also strongly called for the invalidation
of the citizenship of Indonesians supporting ISIS.
Meanwhile, chairman of the central board of Nahdlatul Ulama, the
countrys largest non political Islamic organization, Slamet
Effendy Yusuf said the Islamic state is not a new ideology in
Indonesia.Slamet blamed the administration of the New Order
regime under President Suharto for the resurgence of the
ideology of Islamic state in the country.
"It was the consequence of political strategy at that time," he
said here on Wednesday.
There are still many people harboring the idea of establishing
Islamic state in Indonesia, he said.
He pointed to emergence of similar movement in Solo under Abu
Bakar Baasyir, who was later convicted as terrorist leader.
Therefore, the government is right with its decision to outlaw
ISIS, he said.
"NKRI (the Unitary State of Indonesia) adopts the Pancasila
ideology and ISIS claimed to have an Islamic ideology but not
Islamic in its actions," he said.
(Uu.H-ASG/F001)
Democracy
–
Indonesia, between ISIL & election
Bonni Rambatan, Jakarta
|
Opinion | Wed, August 06 2014,
The recent presidential
election in Indonesia was nothing short of a victory for
democracy.
Nowhere before have we seen such an engaged electorate, with
such
a large number of voters, very passionate (if not always the
best
mannered) social media interactions and increased transparency
through various digital means.
What’s more laudable, the
numbers taking to the streets in protest at the election result
have
been paltry compared to what predictions and rumors of possible
riots
might have led us to believe.
In light of this, presidential
candidate Prabowo Subianto’s Facebook video call to “fight until
the last drop of blood” for his 8 million-strong followers seems
downright tragicomic in hindsight, with well-known commentators
calling him delusional and accusing him of trying to hold the
country
hostage by whatever means.
On the other hand, the support for
the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Indonesia
that has
been gaining traction as of late has been nothing but a crisis
for
democracy, a display of disenfranchised masses attacking its
core
values and calling for alternative extremes.
Even outside of the
ISIL supporters, renowned Islamic commentators have quoted how
democracy has been “excessive”, how wars and other violent
movements are a product of too much freedom of opinion.
The
numbers taking to the streets in support of ISIL in cities like
Jakarta, Surakarta, Malang and Bima has exceeded anyone’s
expectations. In light of this, the call by Indonesia’s ISIL
supporters to rally followers in support of an Islamic State,
with
tales of ISIL violence spread around as the “success stories” of
some kind of holy war, becomes a very real discomfort.
What do we
make of these two events? What is the state of democracy in a
country
in which these two events coincide almost perfectly? It is all
too
easy to blame democracy and the so-called “too much openness”
for
the spread of radical ideas through Islamic youth, as many
conservative intellectuals are wont to do: You choose democracy,
you
are bound to attract anti-democratic views within it. But is
that
really true?
We must be very careful to note that violence, in
and of itself, does not come from any kind of freedom of speech.
Spoiled children are not a product of too much love — they are
products of too much of thNo matter how much “national
development”
gets preached, the feeling that you are being ignored and your
views
do not matter in the larger scheme of things will inevitably
lead to
frustrations — often destructively This is where all the talk of
“too much democracy” is fundamentally misleading. What we have
instead is too little democracy — people voting, yet at the same
time feeling as if they are not making a difference. All that,
if the
recent presidential elections are any indication, seems to be
changing.
But lingering questions nonetheless still haunt our
minds: Will things really change? What with all the infamous,
seemingly above-the-law crooks still pulling the strings,
plundering
Indonesia’s wealth and circulating it overseas, what with all
the
unresolved crimes of Indonesia’s past hovering right in front of
our eyes, the criminals shamelessly running for political
positions
of the utmost importance, is there even a remote possibility of
a
true, actual difference in the way things are conducted?
Is
there hope for those whose voice has been lost in the dark
recesses
of history to actually, finally be heard? Or, as many jaded
fatalist
“intellectuals” seem all too ready to believe, has all this
election drama been just for show, and we will inevitably end up
disenfranchising more and more of the Indonesian population,
causing
mass frustration to rot and fester into ISIL-style reactionary
uprisings in more places in Indonesia?
If the political
passion of the masses in recent elections is any indication, the
signs are positive. Of the very many Joko “Jokowi” Widodo voters
I have encountered, most, if not all, are not exactly supporters
of
the figure per se, but instead are disillusioned youth who have
only
opted for the structural openness that Jokowi brings to the
table.
Most, if not all, are ready to point out the flaws of Jokowi and
name names among his political supporters with obvious cases of
corruption and human rights abuse worn on their sleeves — and
yet
they still support him, because it is only with Jokowi that they
feel
safe doing so.
This, personally, is what democracy is supposed to
be: a readiness to criticize, at full throttle, the very people
you
support — because you know you won’t be silenced and killed for
doing so.
This is, incidentally, where Jokowi’s famous “Salam
Tiga Jari” (three-finger salute) speech seemed a little
incomplete.
Of course, Persatuan Indonesia (the unity of Indonesia) is a
wonderful ideal, but we should not forget that our democracy,
our
Indonesia, is still one that breeds wave after wave of
fundamentalist
terrorists and their supporters.
Do not get me wrong — of
course, I am all for the unity of Indonesia, and against any and
all
kinds of terroristic reactionary movements. But we must realize
that
a three-finger salute is best done with the middle finger at its
core, a finger that should be pointed squarely and consistently
towards the corrupt politicians still in power.
The middle-finger
salute, as it was called during the presidential elections,
signifying a movement of constant vigilance that the threat of
corruption lies on both sides of the candidate, should not be
lost in
the continuous quest for unity.
Yes, it is good to put aside
political differences and retreat to peaceful economic lives
(“Nelayan kembali melaut” and so on), but we must also know that
peaceful economic lives can only be achieved when there are no
people
in black raising weapons supporting lynchings under the name of
Allah
walking around in our neighborhood.
For such dangers to stop
growing in power, we need to open our arms and lend our ears to
the
disempowered and show them that, yes, there is a way out besides
violence.
And to do that, we must never cease our newfound
political passion in the recent elections, and instead focus
those
passions on constant vigilance, criticism and a striving for
transparency with the new government to together make our
country a
more pleasant place to live in.
After all, it is only when
terrorism is no longer an appealing political option among the
youth
that we will know we are moving in the right direction.
_____________
The author is a
writer, artist and critical theorist.
Editorial:
IS
isn’t the real threat
The Jakarta Post |
Editorial | Wed, August 06 2014, 10:19 AM
Indonesia has caught up
with the rest of the world in responding to the threat following
the
declaration of the new Islamic State (IS) last month. The
government
realized the danger after it became clear that the self-declared
caliphate had some support in the country.
Several
Indonesians have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL), a rebel organization fighting against the two
conflict-ridden
states. ISIS has since become the IS, and the Indonesian
volunteers
have openly called on Muslims here to join them in pledging
allegiance to the new state.
Maintaining vigilance is important,
especially since the IS uses violence to further its cause. In
parts
of Iraq where it controls, it has given ultimatums to Christians
to
convert to Islam, be killed or leave the country. The IS has
destroyed the tomb of Jonah, a prophet recognized by Jews,
Christians
and Muslims, inside a mosque complex.
Any decent Muslim will
tell you there is nothing Islamic about this group. It is
essential
however that Indonesia keeps the IS threat in perspective and
proportional.
The idea of a caliphate is as old as Islam itself,
and like it or not, this aspiration is found among some Muslims
in
Indonesia. Some political parties have made it their chief
platform
and won votes in general elections. Although never a majority,
they
win enough votes to have some political representation,
including in
the present coalition government.
In a free and democratic
Indonesia, you cannot ban an ideology, even if you wanted to.
The ban
on Communism and Marxism, a legacy of the Soeharto regime, is
almost
irrelevant today since they are widely considered spent or dead
ideologies. China and Vietnam, the two largest Asian communist
states, are communist in name only.
But Islam as a political
ideology is alive here and many adherents believe that Indonesia
should become an Islamic state, or at least governed by sharia
(Islamic laws). This puts them at odds with the majority,
including
most Muslims, who believe that Indonesia should remain a secular
Pancasila state that respects all religions and guarantees
freedom of
religion to all citizens.
We welcome the public denunciation of
the IS by the government and the two major Islamic
organizations,
Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. We agree that the government
should
monitor the activities of the returning volunteers from the
Syrian/Iraqi conflicts and those who have openly declared their
allegiance to this so-called caliphate.
It would be wrong however
for Indonesia to ban the ideology, for it runs counter to the
freedoms of thought and speech guaranteed by the Constitution.
Besides, any attempt to ban ideology is a futile and wasteful
exercise. Any excessive response to the IS threat only indicates
our
lack of self confidence in Indonesia.
Fight ideology with
ideology. Fight fire with fire.Education remains the best weapon
to
fight the IS ideology. Strong and credible law enforcement and
better
intelligence capabilities should be the weapons of choice in
dealing
with any violence the IS supporters may be planning in
Indonesia.
* * *
The week in review:
Fearing ISIL ramifications
The Jakarta Post |
Editorial | Sun, August 03 2014
Government
officials,
religious leaders and the public alike have sounded the
alarm about the ramifications of the Islamic State of Iraq and
the
Levant (ISIL), alternately called the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria
(ISIS), which strives to establish a caliphate that straddles a
vast
swathe of the world from Morocco and the Middle East to
Indonesia.
The
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has confirmed that
many
Indonesian extremists have gone to the Middle East and joined
the
jihadists in Syria and Iraq. It warned that they could lose
their
citizenship because helping rebellion in a sovereign state is
against
Indonesian laws.
ISIL grabbed Indonesian public attention when
its fighters overran much of Iraq and local hardline groups
staged
demonstrations in Jakarta in support of their Sunni brothers’
cause. In Malang, East Java, 500 members of the Ansharul
Khilafah
hardline group took an oath of loyalty (baiat) to the caliph,
Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi, on July 20, according to tempo.co.
The hottest
news about the Indonesian jihadists joining ISIL is a video
they
uploaded on YouTube in which they called on Indonesian Muslims
who
share their ideology to go to the caliphate that was
proclaimed on
July 5 by al-Baghdadi, known by his supporters as Caliph
Ibrahim.
BNPT chairman Ansyaad Mbai said the regional extrimist
network under Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, a convict and spiritual
leader of
the region’s jihadist network, was one of ISIL’s supporters
and
financial backers.
Syafii Maarif, a respected moderate Muslim
leader and former chairman of Indonesia’s second largest
Islamic
organization, Muhammadiyah, has condemned the call made by
jihadist
leader Abu Muhammad al-Indonesi in the YouTube video for
locals to
“join the ranks”.
“Only the crazy would heed such a call,”
he said.
Clearly, Indonesian authorities cannot take legal or
repressive measures against those voicing support for ISIL,
which
BNPT has declared a terrorist group, unless they violate
Indonesian
laws.
We appreciate the government’s stand on the issue. If not
properly handled it can exacerbate extremism in Indonesia.
Returning
jihadists pose even more danger to national security if they
pass
their combat and bomb-making skills on to radicals at home, as
had
former combatants who had helped the Afghans fight the
Russians in
the 1980s and the Moro separatists in the Philippines
today.
***
Bolstered by the euphoria of winning the
recent tightly contested presidential election, Joko “Jokowi”
Widodo seems able to endure the headache created by the
pressure he
faces to release the names of his future aides to the public.
Jokowi has been talking about leaving his job as Jakarta
governor in the near future so that he can run a “transition
office” and concentrate on planning the government he will
begin
leading this October. Although his 53.15 percent win, as
announced by
the General Elections Commission (KPU), is being challenged by
his
sole rival, Prabowo Subianto, before the Constitutional Court,
it has
already been tacitly or openly recognized, even by Jokowi’s
political foes.
People are wondering how Jokowi, who
demonstrated as Jakarta governor that he fiercely believes in
meritocracy, will be able to honor his promise to establish a
professional Cabinet that is free from interference from the
political parties that backed his dramatic ascension.
From the
outset he had insisted he would only accept political parties
as
coalition partners if no strings were attached to their
offers,
meaning that they would not demand Cabinet positions in
exchange for
their support.
This much-lauded unconditional coalition is
unprecedented. So far, Cabinets have been dominated by
representatives of the political parties that make up the
alliances
supporting the ruling parties. The Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
administration is a case in point, which proves that a grand
coalition is no guarantee for an effective government, largely
because his allies pursued their own political agendas.
Jokowi’s
running mate Jusuf Kalla, a seasoned Golkar Party politician,
has
apparently sensed trouble ahead. He assured the political
parties
that lined up behind his ticket that they can propose names to
be
considered as candidates to sit in the Cabinet.
The media is rife
not only with speculation about the names of personalities
Jokowi may
pick to make his vision and mission happen, but also of
possible
Cabinet reforms aimed at shrinking the current 34-ministry
bureaucracy for the sake of efficiency.
Jokowi had famously
promised to set up a small coalition of parties, even though
he
happily leaked secrets to the media about the leaders of
political
parties who want to break away from Prabowo’s red-white
coalition
of eight parties.
Parties on Jokowi’s side, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the NasDem Party, the
Hanura
Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB), secured only 37
percent
of the 560 seats in the House of Representatives, casting
doubt over
Jokowi’s ability to run a stable government.
Amid the
speculations about whom he will pick as his Cabinet ministers,
Jokowi
turned to cyberspace, asking the public through his Facebook
account
to come up with names of their preferences to fill his
Cabinet. It
may be just a gimmick he created to boost his populist image,
but he
has received lots of positive responses for involving the
people in
forming his future government, something previous regimes had
never
done.
The tactic also reflects how hard it is for Jokowi to
resist pressure from various quarters, especially from the
political
parties behind him and the other elements of his campaign team
who
are anxiously expecting payback.
—
Pandaya
* * *
