Coping with terror, RI Muslims after Bali

Jusuf Wanandi, Co-founder, Member, Board of Trustees, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta

While the terrorist bombings in Bali have created a major problem for the Megawati administration that is ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with the situation, in the long term, the more important problem for the country is its impact on Indonesian Muslims. Since they are the majority in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, their attitudes and actions will be critical to Indonesia's future.

There are many "Muslims" in Indonesian politics. Most of the 190 million Muslims are considered moderates in the political arena, because they believe that religion is a private matter. They participate in both Islamic and non-Islamic political parties, and they do not think that the syariah (Islamic law) should be part of positive law.

Indonesia, however, has also had many radical Muslims since its independence, although they are few in number. They are proponents of instilling the syariah as the positive law of Indonesia, if necessary through undemocratic means. The most extreme of these radicals aimed at establishing a Muslim state ruled by a caliphate.

The attack on Bali is not likely to change the attitude and policies of such radical Muslim groups, as their frame of mind and agenda are fixed. They believe, and have also fueled, the idea that the United States is the culprit, because to them it is only the U.S. that has the interest and the capacity to pull off such an attack. It was unfortunate that in the first three weeks after the blasts, the Indonesian media was also carried away by this kind of belief.

Now that some of the suspects have been captured and interrogated, some sense of balance has begun to emerge. The media is having second thoughts about the incredible theories regarding U.S. involvement as espoused by "experts", and are correcting themselves.

The radical groups, too, have been affected by the event. Before Bali, they could get away with almost anything, including criminal acts such as destroying properties or fomenting regional conflicts, without any penalty by the government or the police. In the aftermath of the Bali bombings, this will be more difficult. For instance, their efforts to impose the syariah through unlawful actions or use of force will be unacceptable to the public, as well as law enforcement agencies.

Further, although the disbanding of the two strongest radical groups, the Laskar Jihad and the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI), were not directly related to the Bali bombings, public pressure against their actions are surely part of the reason.

It should be remembered, however, that actions taken against these radical groups by the government and the police should always be based on the rule of law. It will be counterproductive to use arbitrary and repressive means as was undertaken during the Soeharto regime, which will only martyrize them and so boost their popularity.

The moderate Muslim groups have always argued that the government should prosecute the radicals if they trespass the law. Yet, their voices were neither clear nor strong enough, and anyhow, the government was too weak to act. In fact, some of the police and army officers were themselves involved in creating and training some of these radical groups. It must be said, however, that the kind of anarchy and lawlessness the radicals created has provided fertile ground for terrorists.

The moderate, mainstream Muslim groups, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, should debate their policies and attitudes towards the radical and extremist Muslim groups. They have been correct not to equate the radical or extremist groups with terrorists.

They are also right in that such groups have arisen because of the repression of political Islam by Soeharto, and because they were left behind by the mainstream groups. The moderates are also right in thinking that radical groups should not be isolated or excluded from the mainstream. Instead, they should be persuaded to abandon their radical ideas and rejoin the mainstream.

Unfortunately, evidence shows that some radicals are using force, even resorting to terrorist acts, and therefore a limit must be put upon this tolerance. The moderates have been reluctant so far to condemn such radicals, because they have never openly debated the issue amongst themselves, or have tried to forge a consensus on what to do against them. This is also partly due to a sense of solidarity towards Muslims in general.

An open and democratic debate about the issue among themselves is a real necessity now, in order to reach a consensus and to oppose these radicals and terrorists resolutely. Otherwise, the moderates will endanger their own leadership over their followers and other Indonesians, and will lose credibility with the international community, especially with their neighbors, who also have many Muslims among them.

Indeed, the Bali tragedy has had a real impact on Indonesia, particularly on Indonesia's Muslims. It has limited the anarchic and criminal activities of the radicals, and has pressured moderates to begin a discussion among themselves to come up with a clear stance, as well as real policies, in regards those radicals who are also terrorists.