No arrest of militants, Muslim leaders warn<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesian Muslim leaders on Sunday called on law enforcement
\nagencies not to follow the example of Malaysia and Singapore in
\narresting militants, as it would not help to improve the
\ncountry's security situation.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the country's second largest Islamic organization,
\nMuhammadiyah, Syafi'i Maarif called on the police to refrain from
\narresting members of groups fighting for an Islamic state as it
\nwould only spark more problems.<\/p>\n
\"It's difficult for the government to act against them if it
\nhas no evidence of their violent activities,\" Syafi'i said.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i conceded that a number of militant groups in Indonesia
\nwere championing an Islamic state for Indonesia, but thus far,
\ntheir numbers were small and they had not resorted to violence.<\/p>\n
Secretary General of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) Dien
\nSyamsuddin shared Syafi'i's argument and said: \"The police must
\nnot take any action as such action will only spark more
\nproblems.\"<\/p>\n
\"I myself do not agree with the idea of setting up an Islamic
\nstate, but I would also disagree if, in this democratic system,
\nthe police acted unfairly toward such groups,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Both Syafi'i and Dien were asked to comment on the arrest of
\nIndonesian Mujahidin members in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Malaysian authorities stated on Friday that three of the 13
\nMuslim militants rounded up between Dec. 9 and Jan. 3 under the
\nInternal Security Act, which allows detention without trial, were
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
They identified the three as Indonesian Mujahidin Council
\nchief and founding member Bakar Bashir and members Hambali and
\nMohamad Iqbal.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Council's Jakarta chapter Sayid Hamidan
\nconfirmed the identities of the three, but said he doubted that
\nBakar Basir had been arrested in Malaysia as \"he just arrived
\nfrom Mecca.\"<\/p>\n
Hambali and Iqbal had been living in Malaysia for several
\nyears, he added.<\/p>\n
Bashir and Hambali were specifically named by the Malaysian
\nauthorities as \"directing figures\" of a new Militant Group of
\nMalaysia wing possibly involved in the struggles of Islamic
\nmilitant groups around the world, including in the southern
\nPhilippines, Afghanistan, Ambon, Chechnya and Kashmir.<\/p>\n
Sayid Hamidan of Indonesian Mujahidin Council acknowledged
\nthat establishing an Islamic state was an ambition of the
\norganization, but it would be pursued through peaceful means.<\/p>\n
A day after Malaysia announced the arrest of the 13 suspected
\nmilitants, the Singapore police announced that they had also
\narrested 15 Muslim militants who were accused of having links
\nwith Osama bin Laden, the lead suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks in
\nthe U.S.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i said that the situation in Indonesia differed from
\nthose in Malaysia and Singapore, where radicalism might have
\nreached an alarming level.<\/p>\n
\"The movement (to establish an Islamic state) is not
\nsignificant here, and is not even materializing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the government should not succumb to arguments that
\nsuch groups posed a danger to national stability, and then act
\nunfairly against them.<\/p>\n
According to Syafi'i, although the organizations could number
\nin the dozens, radical movements only involved a small proportion
\nof Indonesian Muslims, therefore, they were nothing to worry
\nabout.<\/p>\n
\"It will become our concern if large organizations like
\nNahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah support their movement,\"
\naccording to Syafi'i, adding that the government needed to hold a
\ndialog with them so that their movement would cause no problems.<\/p>\n
Radical movements, including the effort to create an Islamic
\nstate, are nothing new in Indonesian history and they were
\ninevitable in a country like Indonesia, where 85 percent of its
\n210 million people were Muslims, Syafi'i added.<\/p>\n
Syafi'i reminded the government that radicalism, which is now
\nstill a minority movement among Muslims, would grow larger if
\nstate leaders failed to create justice in society and the law
\ncould not be enforced fairly.<\/p>\n
\"The government and other leaders of the nation should
\nseriously deal with this problems. If not, this country will
\nbecome fertile ground for radicalism,\" Syafi'i told The Jakarta
\nPost by phone from Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
Referring to an incident in the East Java town of Ngawi, where
\na group of radical Muslims attacked a gambling house last month,
\nSyafi'i said it had been sparked by the unwillingness of the
\npolice to stop gambling, which is prohibited by the law.<\/p>\n
Instead of targeting small militant groups, Syafi'i suggested
\nthat law enforcers become more serious in dealing with corruption
\nby arresting and trying those who have stolen large amounts of
\nthe state's wealth.<\/p>",
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