Combating terrorism: A shared responsibility

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.