Bali bombings wake-up call for Indonesian Muslims

Bali bombings wake-up call for Indonesian Muslims

Azyumardi Azra, Rector State Islamic University (UIN), Jakarta

The terrorist bombing of Legian, Bali, on October 2002 is, no doubt, a tragedy in contemporary Indonesia. In fact, the bombing reflects a new phase of violence and terror in the country. This can be seen not only in the relatively large number of the victims, but also in the use of lethal weapons by the terrorists to inflict the greatest psychological impact both domestically and internationally.

But now, after intensive police investigation, the Bali bombing, for several reasons, could turn out to be a 'blessing in disguise'.

First, police have been able not only to catch the alleged perpetrators of the bombing, but also to reveal fresh evidence of the networks of radicals in Indonesia and Southeast Asia in the general. The revelation of the networks has been crucial to establish the fact that networks of radicals have been working in Southeast Asia, in Indonesia in particular, in the last few years to achieve their ends, the most important of which is supposedly an "Islamic Nusantara State" that would consist of Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and, probably also southern Philippines.

After the unsolved series of bombings since the fall of President Soeharto from power in 1998, now the police with the help of their counterparts from Australia, for instance, have been able to uncover the links between the Bali blast and a number of bombings in the past two years at least.

Second, the revelation of the networks of radicals by the police in a convincing way has silenced most of the skeptics, who from the very day of the Bali blast have maintained that the bombing was simply a U.S. or Western plot to discredit Islam and destroy the image of Muslims in the country. The skeptics, some of them prominent Muslim leaders, who seem to believe in the so- called conspiracy theory, in fact have accused President Megawati's government of being slavishly surrendered to the pressures and wishes of U.S. President Bush in particular.

The disclosure of the networks of extremists has disproven the conspiracy theory. The statements of Amrozi, Imam Samudra and others allegedly involved in the Bali and other bombings makes it clear that the bombings have been motivated by both genuine radicalism and hatred for the U.S. and other Western powers. The fact that the perpetrators show no remorse about the innocent victims has further strengthened the premise that they have been strongly motivated by their own ideology rather than by anything else.

Third, the revelation of the networks of radicals points to the fact that there are indeed terrorists among Indonesians, who happen to be Muslims and who are more than happy to use violent means to achieve their ends. Before the police disclosure, there was widespread reluctance among Indonesian Muslim leaders to admit that there are terrorists among Indonesian Muslims who have misused the teachings of Islam to justify their terrorist activities. In fact some of the prominent Muslim leaders have issued statements that could create a wrong impression in the eyes of the public by not only defending the radicals, but also condoning violence and terrorist acts.

It is now the right time for Indonesian Muslim leaders, the great majority of them moderate, to sincerely admit that there is a serious problem of radicalism among certain Muslim groups. This problem should be fairly addressed by moderate Muslim leaders hand in hand with law enforcement agencies for the sake of the image of Islam as a peaceful religion and of Indonesian Muslims as the Islamic people with a smiling face.

The problem of the radicals is to be seen at two levels: First, the abuse and manipulation of Islamic doctrine to justify radicalism and terrorism. The abuse undoubtedly comes from a literal interpretation of Islam. Second, the problem of the use of violence and terrorist acts, which undoubtedly runs contrary to Islam.

Therefore, it is time now for moderate Muslim leaders to speak more clearly and loudly that literal interpretation of Islam will only lead to extremism, which is unacceptable to Islam, and that Islam cannot condone, let alone justify, any kind of violent acts. There is absolutely no valid reason for any Muslim to conduct activities that harm or kill other people, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Furthermore, the moderate Muslim leaders should not be misled by the claims and assertions of the radicals. The radicals are shrewd not only in abusing Islamic doctrine for their own ends, but also in manipulating Muslim sentiment through the manipulation of mass media, particularly television. The claims that the arrest of certain radical leaders means the suppression of Islam and the ulema (Muslim religious scholars) are very misleading. Similarly, the claims that the police investigation into certain pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in the search for the perpetrators of the bombings will lead to hostility and suspicion toward all pesantrens are even more misleading.

The identification of radical leaders and groups with Islam and ulema is again very misleading. In fact the radicals are only a very small fraction of the ocean of moderate Muslims who by their sheer numbers can be fairly regarded as representative of the peaceful nature of Indonesian Islam.

Some have argued that the defensive attitude of certain moderate Muslim leaders originates from the trauma of political engineering and abuses by the police and military of the Muslims during the Soeharto period. This argument, I believe, is not relevant in view of the current political situation. There is no evidence that Megawati's government is hostile to Islam and Muslims.

In fact President Megawati seems to be very sensitive to Muslim issues compared for instance to President Abdurrahman Wahid. Lacking Islamic credentials, President Megawati in fact avoids making statements, let alone policies, that could spark opposition from Muslims in general.

It appears that she does not realize that the moderate Muslim leaders and organizations are more that willing to rally behind her in opposition to any kind of religious extremism and radicalism.

As for the police force, it has become increasingly more difficult for them to commit human rights abuses. The fall of the authoritarian regime and the rise of democracy in Indonesia has forced the police to be more sensitive to human rights issues and to the protection of the rights of the alleged perpetrators of any kind of violence and terrorism.

Therefore, it is the duty of the public to control and watch the police closely in their investigation in order not only to prevent any possible wrongdoings and mishandling of the suspects by the police, but also to establish credible procedures and due process of law.

Moderate Muslim leaders while maintaining a watchful eye on the police efforts to bring to justice all perpetrators of violent and terrorist acts, should support the police in their investigation.

Above all, the future of Indonesian Islam is very much dependent on the fair, objective, pro-active attitude of the moderate majority to respond to any development in Indonesian Islam. A reactionary and defensive attitude is not going to help efforts to show to the world that Islam is a peaceful religion and that Muslims are peace-loving people. Again, it is time for the moderate to be more assertive, to lead the way to reestablish the peaceful nature of Indonesian Islam.