Govt won't restrict Islamic schools: Kalla

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Jusuf Kalla denied reports that the government would restrict the activities of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) as part of the fight against terrorism, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said on Thursday.

"The Vice President has said that there are no plans at all by the government to limit the activities of pesantren as reported by the media," said MUI secretary-general Ichwan Syam during a news conference after a meeting with Kalla at the latter's offices in Jakarta.

However, Ichwan added, Kalla insisted on the need to closely monitor Islamic boarding schools that promoted religious extremism and radicalism.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kalla said that among 17,000 boarding schools across Indonesia, there was only one or two that were extreme or violated Islamic teachings.

They have been alleged to "brainwash" their students by claiming that suicide is allowed in Islam for jihad (holy war), Ichwan quoted Kalla as saying.

"Such teachings have sown the seeds of terrorism. The MUI will support the government in educating the public that such an evil act (suicide) is against Islam," said Ichwan.

However, he said that Kalla had refused to identify the schools believed to be harboring terrorists and promoting extremist teachings.

The Al-Mukmin boarding school in the central Java city of Surakarta was investigated after several of its former students were found to be involved in the first Bali bombings in October 2002, which killed 202 people.

The school was run by cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir before he was convicted for his role in those bombings and sentenced to 30 months in jail.

Ba'asyir himself has been accused by foreign governments of being the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah, a regional extremist group blamed for a series of deadly attacks in Indonesia in recent years, including the Bali blasts.

Thursday's meeting was called by the MUI to seek clarification from Kalla over his statement carried in media reports that the government would restrict the activities of pesantren following the Oct. 1, 2005, terror attacks in Bali, which killed 23 people, including three suspected suicide bombers.

Ichwan said that although the Vice President had denied making this statement, the reports had tarnished the image of Islam.

Ichwan urged all government officials to refrain from making statements to the media that could provoke anger among Muslims and be counterproductive to the struggle against terror.

During the meeting, which was also attended by MUI deputy chairman Umar Shihab and board members Ma'ruf Amin, Nazri Adlani and Amidhan, Kalla also conveyed his concerns over the circulation of books written by convicted Bali bomber Imam Samudra in mosques and bookstores, which encouraged the waging of jihad by terrorist means.

Imam was sentenced to death last year along with Amrozi and Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas over their key roles in the 2002 Bali bombings.

The MUI said it also plans to seek clarification from Insp. Gen. Ansja'ad Mbai, who heads the antiterror desk at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, over his media statement that 50 percent of Muslim preachers delivering sermons at Friday prayers spread hatred and hostility against other religious groups.

"The statement has worried us, and undermines the honor of the preachers in front of their followers. This will eventually create hatred among Muslims," said Amidhan.