Speaking up, finally<\/p>\n
One may be forgiven for wondering how many more deaths our
\nesteemed clerics were waiting for before speaking out against
\nhomegrown terrorists; for wondering if the clerics would have
\ntaken a stand had it not been for Vice President Jusuf Kalla
\ninviting them to a screening of a chilling videotape captured in
\na raid on a terrorist hideout.<\/p>\n
The tape shows a masked man, thought to be Malaysian terrorist
\nsuspect Noordin M. Top, saying the recent Bali suicide bombings
\nwere part of a holy war against the West. Also shown are the
\nthree suicide bombers, unmasked and calmly discussing in both
\nIndonesian and Arabic what they have planned for the innocent
\npeople of Bali.<\/p>\n
One of the suicide bombers smiles and says he is going to
\nheaven for his role in the \"jihad against the enemies of Islam\".<\/p>\n
Only after the screening of the video, which police seized in
\nthe raid that killed top terror suspect Azahari bin Husin, did
\nMuslim clerics announce they would join a government-sponsored
\n\"antiterror task force\".<\/p>\n
This task force will play an active role in countering the
\nfalse Islamic teachings being spread by terrorist groups to
\njustify their use of violence against civilians.<\/p>\n
Some religious leaders continue to question the authenticity
\nof the tape and to speak darkly of mysterious foreign plots to
\ncultivate terrorism in Indonesia. However, it is time for all
\nIndonesians to move past these conspiracy theories and accept
\nthat terrorism here has everything to do with religion, or as the
\nclerics said, the misinterpretation and abuse of religion.<\/p>\n
This new antiterror task force finally ends the conspicuous
\nabsence of clerics in the battle against terrorism, and this step
\nhas been rightly applauded.<\/p>\n
Simply condemning terrorist acts and dismissing the
\nperpetrators as a misled few has, as we have learned to our
\nmisfortune, done little to stop the cycle of violence. This
\npoints to the continued success of terror networks in recruiting
\nfoot soldiers susceptible enough to blow themselves up for a
\npromise of heavenly delights.<\/p>\n
Without the assistance of Muslim clerics with the authority to
\nfight the \"ideological war\", the police have been involved in a
\nfruitless battle to shut down the terror networks. In the words
\nof the Vice President, we can arrest 10 terrorists \"but the
\n(false) ideology continues unchallenged and the extremists
\nrecruit 1,550 more people\".<\/p>\n
Even apparent cracks in the terror networks, as analysts and
\ninvestigators have suggested are beginning to appear, do nothing
\nto reduce the potential threat to civilians on Indonesian soil
\nand elsewhere, as only one suicide bomber is enough to kill and
\nmaim anyone within range.<\/p>\n
If our clerics fear upsetting Muslims by taking too strong a
\nstance on extremism, they need only remember the shock and grief
\nexpressed by relatives of the three Bali suicide bombers at the
\nactions of their loved ones, and the relatives' support for the
\nfight against terrorism.<\/p>\n
\"I beg the police to catch the satans who dragged Agus into
\nall this,\" said the uncle of Agus Purwanto, one of the suicide
\nbombers.<\/p>\n
Apart from countering the terrorists' violent view of jihad,
\nwe need religious scholars and leaders of all faiths to actively
\nencourage the preaching of tolerance in schools and in other
\npublic forums.<\/p>\n
As much as people might like to have preachers screened before
\nthey are allowed to blare out all sorts of things that justify
\nviolence over their loudspeakers, memories of the authoritarian
\nNew Order remain fresh. What we need instead are religious
\nscholars and leaders to take up positions on the front line in
\nthese frightening times.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/speaking-up-finally-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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