JP/4/JI
JI does not exist in Indonesia: Hasyim
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.