Indonesia is base camp of Jamaah Islamiyah, says book

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Al Qaeda-linked terror group Jamaah Islamiyah uses Indonesia as its base camp to spread its programs around the globe as part of its end goal of establishing a universal Islamic state, says a thousand-page book about the group launched on Sunday.

"The JI movement is very organized and has prepared a sacred text known as PUPJI (General Guidelines for Jamaah Islamiyah's Struggle) that contains the objectives, targets and strategies for its top agenda of establishing khilafah (a global Islamic state)," book co-author Agus Maftuh Abegebriel said.

Written in Indonesian the book, "Negara Tuhan (God state): the Thematic Encyclopedia", was launched at the Saphir Yogyakarta Hotel by the Siyasa Research Institute (SR-Ins), which studies international Islamic politics.

SR-Ins director Agus and secretary-general Ahmad Yani Abeveiro wrote the book.

"We have spent more than a year preparing the book and conducting research inside and outside of Indonesia, including Peshawar in Pakistan. It is supported with reliable documents including the diary of Omar Al-Faruq, who I believe is not an Ambonese resident as many believe, but an Arab man named Abdul Al-Faruq," Agus said.

Omar Al-Faruq, who once stayed in Indonesia, has been detained by the United States. He reportedly said elderly cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is currently charged with terror attacks in Indonesia, was the JI amir, or spiritual leader.

The book did not confirm Ba'asyir's links with JI, but said the Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia group he currently chairs in Ngruki, Sukoharjo, Central Java, has the same goal of establishing the khilafah as the regional terror group.

The book says JI was led by the late Abdullah Sungkar, a former close ally of Ba'asyir. The two were alleged activists of the outlawed Darul Islam movement that violently campaigned for an Indonesian Islamic state only few years after the country's independence in 1945.

It says JI has a Nidlom Asasi or constitution that regulates the group's movements and sets out the military training for its members. The four main subjects of training included map reading, weapons training and field engineering including bombing.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Agus said the book also describes the Al-Qaeda network along with its strategies, tactics and priority targets -- ranging from shootings, kidnappings, hijackings, bombings and even the use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

Police here have blamed JI for a series of bomb blasts in Indonesia, including the Bali and JW Marriott Hotel attacks and the recent explosion outside the Australian Embassy.

Agus said the book tries to be objective in defining JI as an international movement that does not recognize national borders.

"But of course, we realize that what we have presented in the book is not the absolute truth and therefore we are ready for any criticism and comments about it," he said.

Agus said an English version of the book was being prepared and would be ready for publication next month.

For the first edition of the Indonesian version, SR-Ins has printed 10,000 copies.