Indonesia is base camp of Jamaah Islamiyah, says book

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.