JI inspired by Bin Laden, dreams of creating Islamic state<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), the prime suspect in the latest Bali
\nbombings and numerous other blasts, dreams of creating a pan-
\nIslamic state in Southeast Asia and draws its inspiration from
\nal-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n
Saturday's three suicide bombings which killed 25 people on
\nthe Indonesian resort island bear all the hallmarks of a JI
\noperation, said Ansyaad Mbai, head of the anti-terrorism desk at
\nIndonesia's security ministry, on Sunday.<\/p>\n
JI's ultimate goal is to unite Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia,
\nSingapore and the southern Philippines into a fundamentalist
\nIslamic state, and it uses terrorist attacks to destabilize
\nregional governments.<\/p>\n
It has its roots in Darul Islam, a group which fought for an
\nIslamic state in Indonesia in the 1950s and 1960s and survived a
\nmilitary defeat in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
JI was allegedly nurtured by Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar
\nBa'asyir and fellow Indonesian Hambali, who is also known as
\nRiduan Isamuddin, while they were in exile in Malaysia after
\nfleeing the Indonesia of former dictator Soeharto.<\/p>\n
According to court documents Ba'asyir formally co-founded JI
\nin Malaysia in 1993 with Abdullah Sungkar and assumed leadership
\nwhen Sungkar died of natural causes in 1999.<\/p>\n
Hambali, along with many top JI militants, had fought in the
\nanti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan. He helped build JI into a
\nterrorist network inspired by what he had learnt from al-Qaeda,
\nof which he was a senior member.<\/p>\n
Two JI militants under arrest in Indonesia told Malaysian
\ntelevision last year that its bombers believed they were
\nfulfilling bin Laden's wishes.<\/p>\n
\"Both Hambali and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir issued the fatwa
\n(religious edict) from Osama bin Laden which says all Muslims
\nmust defend themselves and take vengeance for the actions of
\nAmericans, because they have wronged, or killed civilians
\neverywhere,\" said one of the militants, Mohamed Nasir Abas.<\/p>\n
Jamaah Islamiyah, whose name means \"Islamic community\", has
\nstaged more than 50 bombings or attempted bombings in Indonesia
\nsince April 1999.<\/p>\n
Former operations chief Hambali is in U.S. custody after being
\narrested in Thailand in 2003.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir, JI's alleged spiritual leader or \"emir\", was
\nsentenced in March to 30 months in prison for involvement in a
\ncriminal conspiracy that led to the October 2002 Bali nightclub
\nbombings.<\/p>\n
The 66-year-old white-bearded cleric, who has hailed bin Laden
\nas a \"true Muslim fighter\" but denies terror links, was cleared
\nof more serious charges of planning terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
But some of JI's most dangerous militants and bombmakers are
\nstill on the run -- notably Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin
\nMohammad Top. They are suspected of key roles in the 2002 Bali
\nblasts and the Marriott and embassy strikes.<\/p>\n
Two Indonesians named Dulmatin and Umar Patek are also at
\nlarge.<\/p>\n
Analysts say JI has split in recent years between supporters
\nand opponents of attacks on Western targets -- which have taken a
\nheavy toll on mainly Muslim Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said in a
\nreport this year that while Indonesia may be able to contain the
\nJI threat, the lessons of history show it will be hard to
\neradicate.<\/p>\n
\"Darul Islam's ability to adapt and survive over the past five
\ndecades suggests Indonesia is unlikely to eradicate JI
\ncompletely...,\" she wrote.<\/p>",
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