Combating terrorism: A shared responsibility

A'an Suryana, Journalist, The Jakarta Post

Police investigation into the terrorist attacks in Indonesia, whether those in Bali or Makassar, have yet to unfold, but preliminary investigation has suggested that the perpetrators were Indonesians with radical Islamic beliefs.

The outcome of the investigation has yet to find any solid clues that international organizations were linked to, or even responsible for masterminding, the bomb blasts, despite earlier claims drummed up by Western countries that either the much feared terrorist network al-Qaeda or the outlawed Malaysia-based Jemaah Islamiyah were behind the Bali bomb blasts.

Western countries have not reduced their earlier pressures on Asian countries that we must step up measures to quell terrorism. The hawkish U.S. government under President George Bush has campaigned that all countries must support the war against terrorism, and has even put his stance forth as: "With us in the war against terrorism, or against us."

Australia, dubbed as the U.S.'s deputy sheriff in Asia, even went so far to propose that it would launch a pre-emptive strike on foreign soil to combat suspected terrorists. The proposal, which brushed aside the issue of sovereignty of the targeted countries, precipitated an uproar from Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which have been unfairly accused of being safe havens for terrorists.

By all means, the war against terrorism, which has been drummed up by Western countries, is strongly justified. The acts of terrorists, regardless their motives, are gross violations of human rights. Terrorist acts undermine the very basic of human rights, namely the right to live.

However, the aggressive and "cowboy" approach that Western countries have taken, spearheaded by the U.S., against these countries is unjust and even counterproductive; but it must also be admitted that they have recently softened their approach to the war against terrorism, especially to Indonesia.

U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph Boyce, for example, has been able to prevent bad blood between the two countries by visiting pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), and meeting with Muslim leaders. The ambassador has also helped in contributing to better understanding between the two countries.

The U.S. government has also invited dozens of traditional Muslim scholars from rural areas to visit, in order to raise their awareness that the U.S. also has citizens who follow the Islamic faith and that American Muslims are accorded the same rights as any other American, including the right to freedom of religion.

Last, but not least, an advertising campaign released to the Indonesian media, including TV and radio, by American Muslims have also helped Indonesian Muslims to understand that the U.S. respects the rights of all their citizens, whatever their religious affiliation, and following this, that the U.S. must not be regarded as an enemy.

Unfortunately, such mutually beneficial measures have recently suffered a setback after John Howard went ahead with his new proposal on launching pre-emptive strikes against any country suspected of harboring terrorists. Such a proposal based on paranoia has been counterproductive in the sense that it has curtailed confidence-building measures that have been successfully nurtured by Western countries and "terrorist" countries thus far.

Western countries, led on by Australia and the U.S., are apparently confused and have equated terrorism with Islam. Terrorism is a broad term, and it must not be associated specifically with Muslims and Islam. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) of Ireland, right-wing groups in France and even American Christian Timothy McVeigh are terrorists.

In fact, there are very few Muslim hardliners who have taken to terrorism as a last resort to protest against a perceived injustice in the community. A striking example of this perceived injustice is the U.S.'s blind support for Israel, a policy which has supported state terrorism against Palestinians for years.

This Israel-Palestine issue has produced a feeling of brotherhood among Muslims throughout the world, including Indonesia. Such a perception poses no problem among the moderate Muslim majority here. However, it has an adverse and potentially dangerous effect when the hardline Muslim minority here regards this injustice as their ultimate cause, and the perceived perpetrator of this injustice, i.e., the U.S., their ultimate enemy.

The confession of Imam Samudra, the alleged leader of the terrorist attack on Bali, reveals that he planned the bomb for jihad cause was a strong example on the attitude of the hardline minority. According to Samudra, he engineered a string of bomb blasts in Indonesia because he had been exposed to evidence that the United States and its Western allies had committed injustices against his Muslim brothers throughout the world.

It is quite worrisome that Samudra is not the only person who has such beliefs. There are other Muslim hardliners here who share the same beliefs as Samudra.

Therefore, efforts must be made to improve the Muslim community's understanding of other cultures and modern societies. These efforts would not be short-term, but rather long-term efforts. The avenues of possibility are numerous, including education, cultural exchange and many others.

Samudra, who was extremely confined to a narrow education that propagated Islam as the best religion, and dogmatized that other faiths and Western civilization are evil, may not have become a terrorist if he had the opportunity to pursue a moderate and inclusive education early on. This is the most opportune time for Western civilization to pull up their sleeves and pour aid into education in Indonesia?, which could help Muslims achieve an enlightened understanding about religious pluralism and modernization.

Besides this, Western authorities must properly address the issue of perceived injustices against Muslims throughout the world, most notably in the case of Palestine. The U.S. alignment with Israel must be balanced and fair, and not simply blind alignment, so that it will not spark anger in Muslims.

Most terrorist acts executed in the name of Islam by individual "Muslim" terrorists, were precipitated by such injustices. The injustice would merely fuel the already growing number of "Muslim" terrorists, who will sacrifice themselves for their beliefs.

Taken in this light, the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S., followed this year by the Bali bombings, have provided a painful lesson to the world that these issues of injustice must be resolved.

Finally, the West must show their friendly face towards Muslims and Islam. Acts of hostility, such as those displayed by Howard, only raise the tension and are inevitably counterproductive in the war against terrorism.

As they say, it takes two to tango. The West should not just push other countries to join in the war on terror under its own conditions. Instead, it should share the responsibility in this long and winding war.