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.