jangan DIDIAMKAN, teologi radikalis dan pro kekerasan AMAT BERBAHAYA (150)
Moderate Islam on the brink against radicals
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Headlines | Mon, June 25 2012, 8:10 AM
Who is supposedly responsible for keeping radical teachings at bay? That is a question few can answer, despite growing radicalism and intolerance plaguing the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation.
With no clear measures to protect moderate Muslims against the proliferation of radical groups, Indonesia’s war against terrorism may be hitting the wall. The Religious Affairs Ministry, which is supposed to spearhead the fight against radicalism, has no specific measures or budget for this despite the country’s history of major terrorist attacks in the last 10 years. The ministry, which was recently rocked by a graft allegation in the procurement of Korans worth millions of dollars, has allocated less than 1 percent of its Rp 28 trillion (US$2.97 billion) budget this year for fighting radical movements.
• National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT): Spends around 19 percent of its Rp 126 billion budget this year on preventive measures. But that was before its annual budget was cut to merely Rp 92 billion. • Religious Affairs Ministry: Spends Rp 5-10 billion annually, or less than 1 percent of its 2012 budget of around Rp 28 trillion. • Local administrations: Unclear. No specific programs are highlighted.
How serious is the radicalism movement? A survey by the Institution for Islam and Peace Studies (LaKIP) between October 2010 and January 2012 (involving 611,678 students and 2,639 teachers in Greater Jakarta) revealed:
•25.8 percent of students and 21.1 percent of teachers in Greater Jakarta deemed Pancasila no longer relevant as the state ideology. •48.9 percent of students were willing to be involved in acts of religious violence. •41.1 percent of students were willing to be involved in vandalizing houses of worship of other religions. Jihad, ‘pesantren’ and terrorist encounters
Muhammad Adlin Sila, Canberra | Sun, 08/14/2011 7:00 AM
The Jakarta Post recently reported that the bombing in Umar bin Khattab Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Sonolo, near the West Nusa Tenggara town of Bima, was related to Umar Patek, a wanted terrorist suspect arrested in Pakistan (The Jakarta Post, July 25, 2011).
Bima came to the police’s attention late last June, when a 16-year-old student was arrested for allegedly stabbing a policeman to death. The police believe the young boy was a member of an Islamic militant group and that the boy insisted he killed the officer as a reprisal for the police manhunt for jihadists.
This pesantren became increasingly notorious following an explosion occurred on July 11, that left one man dead. According to the minister of religious affairs, this pesantren, founded in 2004, is exclusive and is not yet regarded as a type of pesantren (Kompas.com, 07/3/2011).
Pesantren teachers do teach their pupils (santri) about jihad (bab al-jihaad), but only in a moderate way. Jihad is the Arabic word for what can be variously translated as “struggle”, “effort”, “strive”, “exert” or “fight”, depending on the context. The root of the word jihad is juhd which means “effort”. Another related word is ijtihad which means “working hard or diligently”.
Contrary to common interpretations, the word jihad does not necessarily imply any violent effort, let alone “war” (harb) or “killing” (qital) and such instances of extreme violence. It is a general term, and jihad can mean violent as well as peaceful action, depending on the context in which it is used.
There is no command to murder or massacre as far as jihad is concerned. There is not one word in the Holy Koran to justify murder or massacre under any circumstances whatsoever (Al Baqarah 2:11-12). Therefore, the entire Muslim community all the over the world should condemn brutal murder.
Umar Patek and his followers have been abusing the meaning of jihad by referring to it as a holy war, whereby Muslims unreasonably kill non-believers.
As a result, some Muslims have begun to adopt this misleading meaning of jihad. The use of pesantren in further disseminating this misleading meaning of jihad has further discredited Islam as a whole.
Pesantren through their association and brotherhood (e.g., Rabithah Ma’ahid al Islamiyyah, the association of pesantren) should emphasize that acts of terrorism against innocent civilians, whether through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible in Islam. Terrorism is fasad (mischief) and against the teachings of Islam.
The presence of pesantren in Indonesia is worth mentioning in the spread of well-equipped graduates of the Islamic principles throughout the country. Such traditional Islamic boarding schools are also seen as cultural brokers, to quote the late former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, in the sense that pesantren have been playing a vital role in incorporating local culture as an effective tool in the dissemination of Islamic teachings among local peoples.
Pesantren aim to deepen the knowledge of the Koran, particularly through the study of Arabic, traditions of exegesis and the traditions of the Prophet (Sunnah). These institutions emphasize the core values of sincerity, simplicity, individual autonomy, solidarity and self-control.
Indonesia is home to more than 14,000 pesantren, the majority of which teach a moderate understanding of Islam. Only five pesantren are closely linked to terror group Jamaah Islamiah (JI) of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. These are al-Mukmin in Ngruki, Sukohardjo in Central Java, Al-Multaquien in Jepara, Central Java, Dar-us-Syahadh in Boyolali, Central Java and al-Islam in Lamongan in East Java (Sharif Shuja – Terrorism Monitor April 2005 of The Jamestown Foundation).
The alleged link between Umar bin Khattab pesantren in Bima to Umar Patek has put Indonesian pesantren under the microscope and public suspicion.
Pesantren are traditionally owned by a number of Muslim organizations, the most popular and the largest one being Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). According to local statistics, the number of pesantren in Bima municipality now stands at 19, with 108 clerics (kyai) and 2.828 students (santri), while in neighboring Bima regency there are 44 pesantren with 823 kyai and 4,945 santri. Most of the pesantren in Bima fall under NU auspices.
Considering the crucial role of pesantren in Indonesia, a continuous effort to combat the infiltration of Muslim militancy and suicide bombers into the Islamic boarding schools should top the priority of the NU and other Muslim organizations. At the same time, these Muslim organizations should work side by side with the government (i.e., Religious Affairs Ministry) in disseminating moderate interpretations of jihad.
Previously, pesantren were reluctant to cooperate with the government for fear of losing their traditional curricula. But now they should act, or else everything will be too late. Clerics and Muslim leaders in Indonesia have to openly condemn acts of terrorism and suicide bombings as being un-Islamic. Such heinous acts have never been taught in Islamic literatures or at pesantren.
The writer, a researcher at the Religious Affairs Ministry Research and Development Body, and is a doctoral degree candidate in anthropology at the Australian National University, Canberra.
Who is supposedly responsible for keeping radical teachings at bay? That is a question few can answer, despite growing radicalism and intolerance plaguing the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation.
With no clear measures to protect moderate Muslims against the proliferation of radical groups, Indonesia’s war against terrorism may be hitting the wall. The Religious Affairs Ministry, which is supposed to spearhead the fight against radicalism, has no specific measures or budget for this despite the country’s history of major terrorist attacks in the last 10 years. The ministry, which was recently rocked by a graft allegation in the procurement of Korans worth millions of dollars, has allocated less than 1 percent of its Rp 28 trillion (US$2.97 billion) budget this year for fighting radical movements.
And when it comes to specific measures put in place, few ministry officials are aware of any.
“Our division has no specific program to tackle radicalism,” said the ministry’s director for Islamic development, Ahmad Jauhari. His division is under the Directorate General of Muslim Society Development, and is responsible for preventing Islamic teachings from deviating into radicalism that may lead to violence. Jauhari said that division officials responsible for de-radicalization merely advised avoidance of radical teachings during workshops and social activities. “We usually hold internal workshops to educate our staff and religious advisors to prevent radicalism, hoping they will transfer their knowledge to local religious offices and communities,” said Jauhari. His directorate employs about 83,000 religious advisors, locally known as penyuluh, to oversee 239,497 registered mosques in Indonesia as of 2010. The ministry’s officials and volunteers are traditionally affiliated with moderate Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). Mosques, Islamic boarding schools, universities and high schools are thought to be hot beds for the proliferation of radical groups. According to the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), there is a growing trend in which radicals take over a mosque’s management from followers of the NU and fellow moderate Muslim group Muhammadiyah — the country’s largest and second-largest Muslim organizations, respectively. People are usually lured into radicalism by listening to radical preachers during Friday sermons before being encouraged to join smaller preaching groups as leeway for the forming of terrorist cells. The Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), which has branches across the archipelago to make sure mosques operate within the mainstream of moderate Islam, also has no specific measures in place. “The council is not specifically responsible for the management of the mosques,” said DMI secretary-general Imam Addaruqutni. “But we are willing to cooperate with the government to conduct workshops, talks and sermons to address radicalism issues.” The nation’s spearhead against the radical movement relies on the programs arranged by the NU and the Muhammadiyah. NU vice chairman for the supreme council Masdar Farid Mas’udi, however, said the organization had no specific anti-radicalism program in place, but acknowledged the BNPT’s warning. He said the organization only had an internal institution that oversaw its mosques. “The NU has been carrying out intensive discussions about de-radicalization within the organization. We instill in our followers a tolerance for other religious groups,” said Masdar. Unlike the NU, the Muhammadiyah seems more prepared. Muhammadiyah secretary Abdul Mukti said his organization had made terrorism its main focus long before Indonesia saw an increase in terrorist attacks. However, he said that the organization objected to the term “radical” and instead preferred “extremist”.“Moderate Muslims can be radicals when it comes to what they believe in, but it doesn’t mean that they will resort to violence. Those who use violence are extremists,” he said.
To address extremism issues, Abdul said, the organization had published guidance books about the basic principles of the organization, Indonesian politics, pluralism and tolerance. These books are distributed to Muhammadiyah members all over the country and are available at bookstores. He also said the Muhammadiyah had conducted three internal workshops on anti-extremism.“We are fully aware that some extremists are trying to infiltrate our mosques. That’s why we have been heightening the intensity of our programs,” Abdul said. (tas)
Who is on the front lines in preventing radicalism?• National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT): Spends around 19 percent of its Rp 126 billion budget this year on preventive measures. But that was before its annual budget was cut to merely Rp 92 billion. • Religious Affairs Ministry: Spends Rp 5-10 billion annually, or less than 1 percent of its 2012 budget of around Rp 28 trillion. • Local administrations: Unclear. No specific programs are highlighted.
How serious is the radicalism movement? A survey by the Institution for Islam and Peace Studies (LaKIP) between October 2010 and January 2012 (involving 611,678 students and 2,639 teachers in Greater Jakarta) revealed:
•25.8 percent of students and 21.1 percent of teachers in Greater Jakarta deemed Pancasila no longer relevant as the state ideology. •48.9 percent of students were willing to be involved in acts of religious violence. •41.1 percent of students were willing to be involved in vandalizing houses of worship of other religions. Jihad, ‘pesantren’ and terrorist encounters
Muhammad Adlin Sila, Canberra | Sun, 08/14/2011 7:00 AM
The Jakarta Post recently reported that the bombing in Umar bin Khattab Islamic boarding school (pesantren) in Sonolo, near the West Nusa Tenggara town of Bima, was related to Umar Patek, a wanted terrorist suspect arrested in Pakistan (The Jakarta Post, July 25, 2011).
Bima came to the police’s attention late last June, when a 16-year-old student was arrested for allegedly stabbing a policeman to death. The police believe the young boy was a member of an Islamic militant group and that the boy insisted he killed the officer as a reprisal for the police manhunt for jihadists.
This pesantren became increasingly notorious following an explosion occurred on July 11, that left one man dead. According to the minister of religious affairs, this pesantren, founded in 2004, is exclusive and is not yet regarded as a type of pesantren (Kompas.com, 07/3/2011).
Pesantren teachers do teach their pupils (santri) about jihad (bab al-jihaad), but only in a moderate way. Jihad is the Arabic word for what can be variously translated as “struggle”, “effort”, “strive”, “exert” or “fight”, depending on the context. The root of the word jihad is juhd which means “effort”. Another related word is ijtihad which means “working hard or diligently”.
Contrary to common interpretations, the word jihad does not necessarily imply any violent effort, let alone “war” (harb) or “killing” (qital) and such instances of extreme violence. It is a general term, and jihad can mean violent as well as peaceful action, depending on the context in which it is used.
There is no command to murder or massacre as far as jihad is concerned. There is not one word in the Holy Koran to justify murder or massacre under any circumstances whatsoever (Al Baqarah 2:11-12). Therefore, the entire Muslim community all the over the world should condemn brutal murder.
Umar Patek and his followers have been abusing the meaning of jihad by referring to it as a holy war, whereby Muslims unreasonably kill non-believers.
As a result, some Muslims have begun to adopt this misleading meaning of jihad. The use of pesantren in further disseminating this misleading meaning of jihad has further discredited Islam as a whole.
Pesantren through their association and brotherhood (e.g., Rabithah Ma’ahid al Islamiyyah, the association of pesantren) should emphasize that acts of terrorism against innocent civilians, whether through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible in Islam. Terrorism is fasad (mischief) and against the teachings of Islam.
The presence of pesantren in Indonesia is worth mentioning in the spread of well-equipped graduates of the Islamic principles throughout the country. Such traditional Islamic boarding schools are also seen as cultural brokers, to quote the late former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, in the sense that pesantren have been playing a vital role in incorporating local culture as an effective tool in the dissemination of Islamic teachings among local peoples.
Pesantren aim to deepen the knowledge of the Koran, particularly through the study of Arabic, traditions of exegesis and the traditions of the Prophet (Sunnah). These institutions emphasize the core values of sincerity, simplicity, individual autonomy, solidarity and self-control.
Indonesia is home to more than 14,000 pesantren, the majority of which teach a moderate understanding of Islam. Only five pesantren are closely linked to terror group Jamaah Islamiah (JI) of Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. These are al-Mukmin in Ngruki, Sukohardjo in Central Java, Al-Multaquien in Jepara, Central Java, Dar-us-Syahadh in Boyolali, Central Java and al-Islam in Lamongan in East Java (Sharif Shuja – Terrorism Monitor April 2005 of The Jamestown Foundation).
The alleged link between Umar bin Khattab pesantren in Bima to Umar Patek has put Indonesian pesantren under the microscope and public suspicion.
Pesantren are traditionally owned by a number of Muslim organizations, the most popular and the largest one being Nahdlatul Ulama (NU). According to local statistics, the number of pesantren in Bima municipality now stands at 19, with 108 clerics (kyai) and 2.828 students (santri), while in neighboring Bima regency there are 44 pesantren with 823 kyai and 4,945 santri. Most of the pesantren in Bima fall under NU auspices.
Considering the crucial role of pesantren in Indonesia, a continuous effort to combat the infiltration of Muslim militancy and suicide bombers into the Islamic boarding schools should top the priority of the NU and other Muslim organizations. At the same time, these Muslim organizations should work side by side with the government (i.e., Religious Affairs Ministry) in disseminating moderate interpretations of jihad.
Previously, pesantren were reluctant to cooperate with the government for fear of losing their traditional curricula. But now they should act, or else everything will be too late. Clerics and Muslim leaders in Indonesia have to openly condemn acts of terrorism and suicide bombings as being un-Islamic. Such heinous acts have never been taught in Islamic literatures or at pesantren.
The writer, a researcher at the Religious Affairs Ministry Research and Development Body, and is a doctoral degree candidate in anthropology at the Australian National University, Canberra.
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