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Indonesia Must Hit Terrorism at Its Roots by Tackling Recruitment at Islamic Schools
Joe Cochrane | August 10, 2009

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Valkyrie
4:32pm Aug 10, 2009

John Ralph -

Unfortunately that's the sorry state of affairs that is currently taking place here.

Indonesia needs badly many more moderates to come forward and speak their minds. Otherwise, we will have to perpetually depend on foreign resources for expertise and assistance. So when you compare an apple to apple, it's so easy to see the difference.

So when we import the worse of the best or the best of the worse, we lean on their voices for solace.


John Ralph
3:27pm Aug 10, 2009

The lack of quality education and general knowledge is very obvious amongst Indonesians that have attended a local school. On a world wide scale their understanding of issues is very poor both on domestic matters and international matters. It does not help when the education budget has been mismanaged for decades.

It is far too easy for Indonesians to be misled. On religion I believe Islam (and Catholism for that matter) is failing in Indonesia and world to curb graft and corruption. But Indonesians do not like to admit there is a problem preferring to deny and ignore the problem. I am amazed that Indonesian's blame someone else but cannot or will not accept responsibility. Why is it that Indonesia have such a bad reputation - it is within the set of values you grow up with. I have read the koran 4 times which is 4 times more that most Indonesians. It is very different to what has become Islam today.


eriansa
11:09am Aug 10, 2009

"Terrorism’s roots, they say, lie within the country’s Islamic boarding schools"...

Disagree!

how can 'experts' take that as they final conclusion?

Indonesia suffer this horrible virus of terrorism, that's the fact, but this lovely country is NOT the source. Indonesia infected by what has happened in the global level.


Valkyrie
10:32am Aug 10, 2009

Thank you Simon! I know that such don't exist, but still, I wish it could be. That's how much I loathe the likes of this cranky old guy.

I agree wholeheartedly with you that Education is the key to many of our present day problems. This must emanate from moderate believers of any faith.

KaHaDe
9:15am Aug 10, 2009

just don't forget internet itself could be a dangerous tools for terrorist to recruit newbie, in example: go to bergaul, then to the forum, then to berita dan politik, see yourself, judge it !


Analysis

Noordin M Top has certainly lived by the sword, so it would have been fitting if he had met his demise amid a hail of bullets and bomb explosions inside a farmhouse in Central Java over the weekend.

It seems certain that the alleged mastermind of the July 17 twin suicide bombings in South Jakarta — as well as other attacks in the capital and on Bali — is still at large. Aside from his fanatical, extremist interpretations of Islam and willingness to kill scores of civilians in pursuit of his goals, Noordin is considered even more dangerous for his ability to recruit pawns to carry out attacks, in particular young suicide bombers.

It was likely his followers would attempt to carry on his work in the event he was captured or killed.

“His legend would rise. It would be a great recruiting tool,” said Ken Conboy, author of “Inside Jemaah Islamiyah, Asia’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Network.”

Tracking down and rolling up Noordin’s network — and the man himself given that DNA tests are expected to come back negative — is the job of Detachment 88, the National Police counter-terrorism unit. But analysts say the central government must take a long-term view of the country’s terrorism problem and begin tackling it at its source.

Terrorism’s roots, they say, lie within the country’s Islamic boarding schools. According to Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, about 50 pesantrens are believed linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional terrorist network of which Noordin was once a key member.

“The schools are still important, less for what they teach than for the connections made there,” said Jones, a JI expert. “It’s not so much ‘massive’ recruiting that’s the problem, but more that I would place the santri [orthodox Muslims] at these schools near the top of vulnerable populations for recruitment. And it only takes a visit by one extremist to bring a couple more on board.”

Indonesia has as many as 45,000 Islamic boarding schools, Jones said, but only about 15,000 are registered with the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Analysts have criticized the ministry for not overseeing the schools’ curriculums, which could be blinds for private study sessions for handpicked students with extremist teachers.

Despite the difficulties the government would have intervening in Islamic schools, Nasaruddin Umar, the Religious Affairs Ministry’s director general for mass guidance on Islam, said expanded oversight was inevitable. “We have to control the curriculums of all the pesantrens. I have found many, many problems,” he said.