JI inspired by Bin Laden, dreams of creating Islamic state
JI inspired by Bin Laden, dreams of creating Islamic state
Agence France-Presse, Jakarta
Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), the prime suspect in the latest Bali bombings and numerous other blasts, dreams of creating a pan- Islamic state in Southeast Asia and draws its inspiration from al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
Saturday's three suicide bombings which killed 25 people on the Indonesian resort island bear all the hallmarks of a JI operation, said Ansyaad Mbai, head of the anti-terrorism desk at Indonesia's security ministry, on Sunday.
JI's ultimate goal is to unite Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and the southern Philippines into a fundamentalist Islamic state, and it uses terrorist attacks to destabilize regional governments.
It has its roots in Darul Islam, a group which fought for an Islamic state in Indonesia in the 1950s and 1960s and survived a military defeat in the 1960s.
JI was allegedly nurtured by Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and fellow Indonesian Hambali, who is also known as Riduan Isamuddin, while they were in exile in Malaysia after fleeing the Indonesia of former dictator Soeharto.
According to court documents Ba'asyir formally co-founded JI in Malaysia in 1993 with Abdullah Sungkar and assumed leadership when Sungkar died of natural causes in 1999.
Hambali, along with many top JI militants, had fought in the anti-Soviet campaign in Afghanistan. He helped build JI into a terrorist network inspired by what he had learnt from al-Qaeda, of which he was a senior member.
Two JI militants under arrest in Indonesia told Malaysian television last year that its bombers believed they were fulfilling bin Laden's wishes.
"Both Hambali and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir issued the fatwa (religious edict) from Osama bin Laden which says all Muslims must defend themselves and take vengeance for the actions of Americans, because they have wronged, or killed civilians everywhere," said one of the militants, Mohamed Nasir Abas.
Jamaah Islamiyah, whose name means "Islamic community", has staged more than 50 bombings or attempted bombings in Indonesia since April 1999.
Former operations chief Hambali is in U.S. custody after being arrested in Thailand in 2003.
Ba'asyir, JI's alleged spiritual leader or "emir", was sentenced in March to 30 months in prison for involvement in a criminal conspiracy that led to the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.
The 66-year-old white-bearded cleric, who has hailed bin Laden as a "true Muslim fighter" but denies terror links, was cleared of more serious charges of planning terrorist attacks.
But some of JI's most dangerous militants and bombmakers are still on the run -- notably Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top. They are suspected of key roles in the 2002 Bali blasts and the Marriott and embassy strikes.
Two Indonesians named Dulmatin and Umar Patek are also at large.
Analysts say JI has split in recent years between supporters and opponents of attacks on Western targets -- which have taken a heavy toll on mainly Muslim Indonesians.
Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group said in a report this year that while Indonesia may be able to contain the JI threat, the lessons of history show it will be hard to eradicate.
"Darul Islam's ability to adapt and survive over the past five decades suggests Indonesia is unlikely to eradicate JI completely...," she wrote.