JI does not exist in Indonesia: NU chairman

JI does not exist in Indonesia: NU chairman

Nugroho and A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya/Jakarta

Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Hasyim Muzadi said over the
weekend that the United States was playing the Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI) card to put pressure on and control Indonesia and other
Muslim countries.

Hasyim, who leads the country's biggest Muslim organization of
40 million members, said on Saturday that the charge that the JI
terrorist network was operating here would only create the false
impression that Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country,
was a safe haven for terrorists.

Hasyim's statement came just one day after the United States
froze the assets and accounts of 10 suspected terrorists, mostly
Indonesian nationals.

It also came after the Central Jakarta District Court failed
to determine that Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who was
sentenced to four years in prison for immigration offenses, was
the head of JI, a regional terrorist network blamed for a series
of bomb explosions in the country, including the deadly Bali
bombing in October 2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel attack on Aug.
5, 2003.

"The verdict is proof that JI does not exist in Indonesia,
even if it exists in other countries," Hasyim said in Surabaya,
East Java on Saturday.

JI is a shadowy terror group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-
Qaeda terrorist network, which had been blamed for the Sept. 11
attacks that killed more than 3,000 people in New York and
Washington.

According to Hasyim, JI was a label applied to Muslim
movements, especially fundamentalist ones, in order to push them
into a corner.

He lambasted the U.S. for not distinguishing between the
moderate Muslim majority and the small number of Muslim
fundamentalists.

The U.S. and its allies have been extremely cautious toward
Muslim countries, especially after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
to New York and Washington as evident in tighter visa regulations
imposed on citizens of Muslim countries wishing to visit the U.S.

Hasyim said Islamic fundamentalism was merely a reaction to
the unjust world in which the U.S. itself played its part.

"Islam is not radical and does not subscribe to terrorism.
Radicalism may happen, but it is only a reaction to injustice
that the U.S. itself has perpetrated, for example, in the case of
Palestine," said Hasyim.

Muslims have been frustrated by the U.S.'s double standards in
the Palestinian issue. On one side, it promotes democracy,
freedom of expression and human rights, but on another side, the
U.S. has endorsed Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and
human rights violations there.

Hasyim suggested that Muslims fight against this injustice
through peaceful means, such as by enhancing the quality of life
and welfare of Muslims and improving the quality of Muslim
education.

Islam should not be promoted through harsh means, but it could
be done through legislation, that could favor Muslims, he said.

Meanwhile, legal expert Rudy Satrio said strong evidence was
needed to prove that JI did exist in Indonesia.

The U.S. should back up its statement, that JI does exist in
Indonesia, with strong evidence, so that the public would believe
it.

"The trial of Ba'asyir was the right occasion for the U.S. to
prove that JI existed in Indonesia. However, it apparently failed
to use this to provide evidence in the trial and finally convince
the people that its allegation was untrue," said Rudy of the
University of Indonesia.