Author: Timothy Mapes
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: September 3, 2003
The 15-year-old students rose one-by-one
to practice their preaching. Speaking in a mixture of Arabic and Indonesian,
they spoke about the importance of upholding strict Islamic law and defending
their faith from attacks by infidels. Their classmates responded with exclamations
-- "God is great," "Hang the Jews!" and "America -- terrorist!" -- and
pounded their wooden desks in delight.
This was Thursday-afternoon preaching
hour at the Pesantren al Mukmin, an Islamic boarding school in this poor
suburb of Solo, a city on Indonesia's crowded main island of Java. Al Mukmin
features core subjects such as biology and history, an intolerant brand
of Islam and an extraordinary group of ex-teachers and alumni.
The school has produced almost all
of Indonesia's top terrorist suspects, including alleged participants in
last month's attack on Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel and last October's
deadly nightclub bombing on the island of Bali. Abu Bakar Baasyir, a militant
Muslim cleric who co-founded the school, ran al Mukmin until his arrest
last year on charges of running Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian terrorist
group linked to al Qaeda. A verdict in his trial for alleged subversion
is expected Tuesday.
In response to Islamist terrorist
attacks and U.S. pressure, governments across Southeast Asia have closed
down a few radical Islamic boarding schools in recent months. After being
criticized for initially ignoring terrorist threats, Indonesian police
have arrested more than 90 alleged Jemaah Islamiyah members and other terrorist
suspects.
Yet al Mukmin continues to nurture
its annual crop of about 1,800 Indonesian boys and girls, raising concerns
that a potential source of future terrorist activity remains at work.
Government officials say that moving
too aggressively against al Mukmin could inflame the country's Muslims,
who make up about 90% of the population of 220 million. But the school
also reflects a broader dilemma facing the secular government of the world's
most-populous Muslim nation. While terrorist acts have put increasing pressure
on Indonesia to move against groups that openly espouse hatred and violence,
Jakarta is trying to protect the nascent democratic freedoms won just five
years ago after the collapse of the 32-year Suharto dictatorship, which
suppressed Islamic militants.
"The fact that some alumni, from
some certain pesantrens, involved themselves in terrorist activities does
not provide automatic reasons to shut down any school," Hassan Wirayuda,
Indonesia's foreign minister, said last month. "There is a need to balance
security and proper legal procedure." Pesantren is the local term for an
Islamic boarding school.
Officials have presented no evidence
that al Mukmin students continue to be recruited for terrorist activities,
but police say they are watching the school closely and have agents planted
among the student body.
Al Mukmin school officials say there
are no ties between their enterprise and the alumni who have participated
in dozens of terrorist attacks throughout Southeast Asia during the past
few years. They say the school is funded entirely by student fees -- about
$25 per student per month -- and donations from the surrounding community.
Referring to terrorist alumni, Wahyuddin,
al Mukmin's director says, "These people, after they studied here, continued
their studies overseas. Maybe when they went to Afghanistan or got involved
in a war, they saw things that created resentment and they wanted to take
revenge. But there's no link to our school." (Like many Indonesians, he
uses only one name.)
Pictures of automatic rifles and
tanks adorn the walls of the school. A slogan above the door to the main
classroom building reads, "Death in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration."
Radical pamphlets printed nearby are widely available. One titled "Marriott
Conspiracy Theory" blames Israeli and U.S. intelligence agents for the
recent hotel bombing.
THE TEACHERS
* Abdullah Sungkar: Allegedly founded
and led Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network until his death in November
1999. Sent dozens of Indonesians to fight Soviet forces in Afghanistan
during late 1980s. Co-founder of al Mukmin in 1972.
* Abu Bakar Baasyir: On trial for
allegedly attempting to overthrow Indonesian government by assassinating
President Megawati Sukarnoputri and bombing churches on Christmas Eve 2000.
Accused of leading Jemaah Islamiyah since Sungkar's death. Baasyir denies
all terrorism charges. Co-founder of al Mukmin.
* Riduan Isamuddin (alias Hambali):
Allegedly al Qaeda's link with Jemaah Islamiyah. Accused of terrorist attacks
in Indonesia and the Philippines, including Christmas Eve bombings and
October 2002 nightclub bombing in Bali in which 202 died. Captured by Thai
police in August; being held by U.S. authorities in undisclosed location.
Taught with Mr. Baasyir and Mr. Sungkar in Malaysia.
THE STUDENTS
* Ali Ghufron (alias Mukhlas): Allegedly
main operational controller for Bali attack. Graduated from al Mukmin in
1985.
* Asmar Latin Sani: Identified from
his remains as the suicide bomber responsible for the attack on Jakarta's
J.W. Marriott Hotel on Aug. 5, 2003. Eleven others also died. Graduated
from al Mukmin in 1993.
* Fathur Rathman al Ghozi: Convicted
of December 2000 bombing of commuter train and other sites in Manila in
which 22 died; escaped from Philippine prison in July. Graduated from al
Mukmin in 1989.
A strict disciplinary code keeps
students busy and on a short leash. The school day starts with predawn
prayers at 3:30 and ends at 10 p.m. Permission to leave the school grounds
is granted just once a month, and students can't keep more than 10,000
rupiah (a bit more than $1) at any one time. Those who miss any scheduled
prayers throughout the day can get 10 strokes of a rattan cane.
Besides Mr. Baasyir, at least a
dozen former al Mukmin students have been accused of terrorist acts. The
government has alleged that Ali Ghufron, also known as Mukhlas, was the
main operational boss for the Bali bombing, which killed more than 200
last October. Asmar Latin Sani, a member of the class of 1993, was identified
from his remains as the suicide bomber responsible for the Marriott attack.
Of the 10 others, not all of whom graduated, two are still at large, including
Fathur Rahman al Ghozi, a 1989 graduate. He escaped from a prison the Philippines
in July after being convicted for bombing a Manila commuter train in December
2000. Together, terrorist actions linked by authorities to men who attended
al Mukmin have claimed more than 250 lives.
Mr. Wahyuddin, a 51-year-old Islamic
scholar in a black prayer cap and gold-rimmed glasses, says, "Terrorism
is not a part of our education." But he declines to condemn ex-students
for carrying out attacks. "In Islam, we shouldn't start a war, but we can
defend ourselves if we are attacked first," he says. He says the West's
war on Islam is the real cause of Indonesia's terrorist violence. "Stop
fighting against Muslims. Otherwise, the world will burn," he says.
Septaga, a 19-year-old student wearing
a military camouflage vest, sees a "hidden agenda" behind the school's
critics. "Those who don't like this school are using these accusations,"
he says as a teacher monitors the conversation. Students weren't allowed
to speak alone.
Teachers say they don't encourage
students to attack Christians or people of other religions. "It's not hatred,
but it's what God says," explains Widi bin Hasbi, a 27-year-old teacher.
"The Koran says that we don't want Jews and Christians to live with Muslims."
Sudarti Maryani, who is visiting
her 14-year-old son at the school, says she isn't troubled by the possibility
that he may one day become a suicide bomber. "If my son thinks it is a
good thing to do, I must say it is OK. I am just an illiterate mother,"
she says.
Al Mukmin's militancy is the exception
among Indonesia's roughly 12,000 Islamic boarding schools. The vast majority
preach a message of religious tolerance, mixed with secular education in
sciences and other topics mandated by the government. They have played
a vital role in Indonesia's culture, helping to foster the country's independence
movement during Dutch colonial rule and to make the country a bastion of
liberalism in the Islamic world.
They continue to provide the only
affordable source of education for millions of students among the country's
largely rural population. Their clerics shape the religious and social
views of many young Indonesians, who spend nearly all their time from age
five and into their twenties at the pesantrens. That history means pesantrens
are accorded a considerable degree of respect and autonomy.
"For the police to investigate a
pesantren is a very serious matter, because these schools are a part of
our lives," says Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a political scientist at the Indonesian
Institute of Sciences. "You're targeting poor people, and you're labeling
them as terrorists. The government cannot afford to go around doing this."
Al Mukmin was founded in 1972 by
Mr. Baasyir and Abdullah Sungkar, two radical Islamic preachers who repeatedly
came into conflict with the Suharto regime for their support of Islamic
causes. Mr. Suharto insisted that every Indonesian organization endorse
his secular Pancasila (Five Principles) ideology, as a way to minimize
conflicts between religious and ethnic groups. But those rules angered
more-orthodox Muslims, and clashes between militant Islamic groups and
the government occasionally erupted.
Arrested in 1978 and convicted of
subversion, Messrs. Baasyir and Sungkar were released in late 1982. They
returned to the school in Ngruki to build a network of Islamic publishing
houses, bookstores and student activist associations that continues today.
In 1985, fearing they would be arrested again, they fled the country. In
Ulu Tiram, in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, they set up another
Islamic boarding school. Mr. Sungkar began to send dozens of young Indonesian
students to fight in Afghanistan with the anti-Soviet resistance.
The training courses in Afghanistan
would prove critical to the central role of al Mukmin alumni in the Jemaah
Islamiyah terrorist network, according to Sidney Jones, a Jakarta-based
researcher for the International Crisis Group of Brussels who has studied
what she calls the "Ngruki network," named for the suburb where the school
is located.
For the prestigious Afghan assignments,
Mr. Sungkar chose former al Mukmin students he knew well. Many of them
would later became key players in Jemaah Islamiyah, which means "Community
of Islam." Mr. Sungkar allegedly founded and led Jemaah Islamiyah.
Mr. Sungkar sent Riduan Isamuddin,
also known as Hambali, to Afghanistan. Until his arrest in Thailand last
month, Mr. Riduan was Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist suspect and
was believed to be al Qaeda's main link to terrorist groups in Southeast
Asia. He is being held by U.S. investigators at an undisclosed location
and hasn't commented on the charges against him.
Messrs. Baasyir and Sungkar returned
to Ngruki in 1999 after the collapse of the Suharto regime eased restrictions
on Islamic activism in Indonesia. But Mr. Sungkar -- who was the father-in-law
of Mr. Wahyuddin, al Mukmin's director -- died a short time later, leaving
Mr. Baasyir, his longtime partner, to assume the leadership of Jemaah Islamiyah,
Indonesian investigators say. A 65-year-old cleric with a snowy white beard,
Mr. Baasyir is currently being tried for treason for allegedly plotting
to assassinate President Megawati Sukarnoputri and arranging a series of
church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000. He denies any involvement in terrorism.
It isn't clear whether recruitment
of al Mukmin students for terrorist causes is continuing today. But Ms.
Jones notes that the school, and the personal relationships built up around
it, provide an easy way for Jemaah Islamiyah's leadership to find like-minded
individuals to build their network.
"At the very least, this school
has got to be more thoroughly investigated. You can't just allow bombers
to be produced on a regular basis," she says.
Despite the sensitivities of tinkering
with pesantren, some Muslim educators say they would welcome more government
involvement in al Mukmin's affairs. "We need to look at their curriculum
and the interpretation they are giving to the students," says Muhammad
Ishom, who runs the Pesantren al Muayyad on the other side of Solo. He
shakes his head when told about the al Mukmin students who chanted for
Jews to be hanged. "Who are the people spreading this radical thought?"
he frets. "For us, Christians and Jews are brothers."
Indonesian police say they are monitoring
al Mukmin closely, but there is little they can do unless evidence of wrongdoing
comes to light, or the government shows itself ready to back a more aggressive
approach to the school's curriculum.
"We have had heavy pressure from
the Islamic groups [to leave al Mukmin alone], especially from Islamic
political parties," says Bambang Rudi Pratiknyo, the police chief in charge
of the Ngruki district. "But we are not afraid of anything, so long as
we have evidence and eyewitnesses."
He says that he has several intelligence
agents posing as students at the school to watch for terrorist recruiting
or steps to train students in illegal activities. Their presence, he hopes,
will prevent new generations of students from enlisting with terrorist
groups -- or lead to their arrest if they do so.
