Opinion and Editorial - February 11, 2008

Noor Huda Ismail, Jakarta

Ali Imron, a member of Jama'ah Islamiyah (JI) and one of the main actors in the first Bali bombing, has recently released a book titled Ali Imron Sang Pengebom (Ali Imron, The Bomber). Sitting crossed-legged on a simple black plastic mattress in a Jakarta Police detention cell, this gregarious man told me in a recent interview that the book was his main tool by which he would reach out to his former recruits and those of his fellow jihadists who are still active in the group: "I don't want to see any bombings like the one in Bali happen again" he said candidly. "Enough is enough."

The book is testimony to Ali Imron's repentance, and there are at least four significant lessons that may be drawn from it, particularly for Muslim leaders and the government in devising effective initiatives by which to oppose the jihadist ideology, JI's ideas and propaganda. If left unchecked, both will continue to harvest sympathy, transforming it into logistical support and potentially even generating a new pool of recruits to jihad.

The first significant point in the book is its challenge to and destruction of those who "deny" the Bali bombing, including Muslim figures such as the former spokesman of the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI), Fauzan Al Anshori, who made this hilarious comment in one interview:

"Indeed, the bomb that brought carnage to Bali was carried out by JI, but not JI as in Jama'ah Islamiyah, but JI as in Jewish Intelligence".

Unfortunately he is not alone. A former intelligence officer, the late ZA Maulani, wrote groundlessly in his book:

"The bomb in Bali was made of uranium and plutonium. Guys like Amrozi don't have such capabilities."

The proliferation of attitudes such as these has led to and fed the perception that the war on terror in Indonesia is a war on Islam. Obviously this makes the work of the police, other agencies and the wider Muslim community very difficult.

Secondly, a careful reading of Ali Imron's book leads one to understand that Indonesians have to deal with the threat of terrorism from Muslim groups who, with great care, sophistication and ruthless precision, plan acts of terror in the name of jihad as a form of revenge against the perceived injustices suffered by Muslims around the world as a result of the policies of the United States and its allies.

JI, it has been seen, has complicated and resilient tentacles snaking through not only Indonesia but also the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and even Australia. My own investigations in this field have also identified the dangers inherent in the porous borders between these countries and the constant traffic of people through transnational routes established over hundreds of years. This has hampered efforts by national authorities to curb the mobility of JI members and the associated traffic in arms, explosives and equipment.

Thirdly, Ali Imron's personal trajectory in terror activities demonstrates three routes by which normal individuals can come to commit terrible acts of violence and terror. These routes are introduction, engagement and disengagement.

Ali Imron's initial introduction to violent jihad was made by way of watching jihadi videos. In the book he writes: "Having watched the video, I felt the need to defend Islam and my fellow Muslims from the evil acts committed by the enemies of Islam such as in Palestine and Afghanistan" (page 4). This introduction was made largely thanks to Imron's elder brother, Ali Ghufron (alias Mukhlas), who was then in exile in Malaysia together with one of the founders, Abdullah Sungkar. Ghufron sent Imron to join JI's three-year military training program in Afghanistan in 1991.

Imron's engagement in terrorism began after his Afghani connections asked him to join a series of deadly missions in Indonesia's Ambon in 1999, then fraught with intermittent communal violence 1999, the blowing up of the residence of the ambassadors to the Philippines on Jakarta's Jl. Imam Bonjol in August 2000, bombing attacks against churches on Christmas Eve in December 2000 and finally the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreigners.

Ali Imron's disengagement from terrorism involved him leaving behind the shared values, attitudes and aspirations that had been carefully forged while he was a member of JI. During his time on the run from the Indonesian police, Imron started to realize that terrorist violence per se, including the Bali bombing, rarely, if ever, managed to achieve its aims. In this regard, he writes:

"Jihad, by blowing up Bali, is very debatable among Muslims. Some Muslims agree with it and some do not. I was wrong and I now regret it".

He goes on to say that he wishes to apologize to the victims, their families, the people of Bali, the government of Indonesia and the Muslim community. (Page 174).

Lastly, the book demonstrates that Ali Imron's interpretation of jihad is now very different to that of his erstwhile terrorist colleague, Imam Samudra. In a book entitled, Saya Melawan Teroris! (Me against the terrorist!), Samudra writes:

"Since the main target of the Bali bombing was the Americans and their allies who are guilty of attacking the Muslim ummah (community) in Afghanistan in 2001, they deserved to be attacked as an act of jihad."

Samudra equates the colonial powers who he says are guilty of attacking "helpless and innocent babies" with those to which are referred to in the Holy Koran as the Musyrikieen (Arab polytheists), as indicated in the following verse:

"...And fight against those who ascribe divinity to aught beside God, all together -- just as they fight against you, (O believers), all together -- and know that God is with those who are conscious of Him. (The Koran: 9:36)".

In Samudra's opinion, war must be waged against these "enemies" in retaliation for what they have done. In this respect, the verse acts as guidance and justification for his actions. However, Ali Imron makes twelve points in his book which challenge the very basis of Samudra's interpretation of jihad.

They include the notions that the carrying out of bombings violates the codes of ethics by which jihad may be conducted; that the bombings were carried out in the wrong place and that not only were there no benefits to them, but that these actions tarnished the very image of Islam and the fate of Muslims everywhere.

The writer is the director of an Institute for International Peace Building. He can be reached at noorhudaismail@yahoo.com.

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Thank you.... The Editor.