'Islamic boarding schools oppose terrorism, violence': Didi Hilman
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Pesantren -- or Islamic boarding schools -- have found themselves in an awkward position with the nation being hit by a number of terrorist attacks over the past few years. Although they have nothing to do with terrorism, they have been put in the spotlight because some of the terrorists were pesantren alumni. Didi Hilman, the deputy chairman of the Indonesian Islamic Boarding School Cooperation Body (BKSPPI) based on Bogor, shared his thoughts with The Jakarta Post's Yuli Tri Suwarni on the challenges currently being faced by pesantren amid the current spate of terrorist attacks. The BKSPPI has some 2,000 members who together have over a million students.
Q: How do you see the development of pesantren in Indonesia? A: Compared to few decades ago, there are currently many more pesantren and they are much more diverse in terms of their study programs. When BKSPPI was established in 1972, it had 100 members, but now we have over 2,000 pesantren as members. The development of pesantren is encouraging. Many of them have adopted modern school curriculums and we are pleased with this development.
Q: What motivates parents to place their children into pesantren? A: The parents desire that apart from being taught general knowledge, their children will also be taught religious matters, and pesantren offer this. Pesantren also offer other benefits. Given that they adopt a dormitory system where students must stay and study, they will be constantly monitored by friends and teachers. It makes pesantren free from drugs. In addition, they also teach children to be self-reliant, as they must cook and wash clothes by themselves.
Q: How about the stigma that pesantren harbor terrorists, as there is evidence that a number of convicted and suspected terrorists have pesantren educational backgrounds? A: It has tarnished the image of pesantren, but it is wrong to associate pesantren with terrorism, violence. Pesantren do not endorse terrorism and violence and we even teach our students to avoid violence. Islam upholds human rights.
Q: What is the BKSPPI doing to erase this stigma? A: We have opened dialog with various parties and are telling the world that terrorist activities have been done by few pesantren alumni. They are minority and only a few among the millions of pesantren alumni nationwide.
We have also held dialogs with our member pesantren, including the Al-Mukmin Pesantren in Solo led by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, and we have checked whether their curriculum and teachings endorsed terrorist activities. We found that there was no pesantren curriculum that endorsed violence or terrorist activities.
It is unfair to say that pesantren contribute to the making of terrorists. We believe that outside factors, such as poverty, have contributed a lot into the making of terrorists.