KPSI, Laskar Jundullah aim for sharia, special autonomy in South Sulawesi

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

After the Dec. 5 Makassar blast that killed three people and injured 11 others, the Committee to Uphold Islamic Sharia (KPSI) and its subordinate group Laskar Jundullah have drawn the attention of the public and also law enforcers.

Denying any involvement in the blasts, the committee claims to be a legitimate organization which has the full support of respected local figures in its mission to uphold sharia in the province.

The groups, have often held raids on nightspots and amusement centers and fomented anti-U.S. sentiment among locals. The extremist group which has similarities with the already-disbanded Laskar Jihad and Islam Defenders' Front military wing, claims to have more than 20,000 members throughout South Sulawesi.

After one of their prominent leaders, Agus Dwikarna, who was said to lead Laskar Jundullah, was arrested in March 2002 and later sentenced to 17 years imprisonment by the Philippine authorities for possession of explosives, they shifted their mission, not only to upholding sharia, but also to having the charges against Agus dropped.

In September 2001 police pointed at members of Laskar Jundullah as possible suspects in a blast at a KFC outlet in the Pengayoman area. The case was dropped as the police lacked evidence to press charges.

However, shortly after the Dec. 5 bombings police announced a manhunt for three people, naming them as possible suspects. The three are affiliated to the two groups.

Previously police arrested Muchtar Dae Lau who is a member of Laskar Jundullah. Following the arrest, raids at the houses of Laskar Jundullah and KPSI members were launched. Wives of several members were also arrested.

Deputy leader of Laskar Jundullah Iswari Al Farisy said his group had three main duties: to help the committee carry out its tasks, to give guidance for the mental and religious development of local youths and to hold social welfare activities.

The committee itself was formally founded during the South Sulawesi Muslim Congress on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 in 2000. The committee was a forum for the alliance of Islamic activists, organizations and institutions in the province, including the local chapters of Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.

The establishment of the committee was one of the recommendations resulting from the congress. The committee was tasked to push for the implementation of sharia in the province in a constitutional way and the Laskar Jundullah was to be its guardian in upholding sharia.

The congress were eyeing the implementation of special autonomy like that given to the strife-torn province of Aceh.

As a formal organization, the KPSI consists of three major departments: the Assembly Council, Executive Council and Jundullah Laskar as its military wing.

The Assembly Council is chaired by Abdulrahman Basalamah, the rector of the Indonesian Muslim University and the Executive Council is headed by Azis Kahar Muzakar.

Azis is the son of the late Kahar Muzakar, the man behind the 1953 self-proclaimed Islamic State in South Sulawesi. The uprising was popularly known as the Darul Islam (DI) rebellion and the Indonesian Islamic Army (TII). Kahar's movement was tied to DI/TII rebellions in other islands like West Java, South Kalimantan, and Aceh.

Less than six months after KPSI was founded, the provincial legislative council recommended the implementation of sharia and the local government followed by establishing a team to study its implementation.

"It's a big surprise because of the response from the council and the government," KPSI secretary-general Aswar Hasan said in an interview with The Jakarta Post at Agus Dwikarna's residence over the weekend.

"Our activists are respectable figures who are accepted and influential at the legislative and executive levels," Aswar boasted.

Figures like Achmad Ali, a senior lecturer in law at the state-run Hasanuddin University; chairman of the local chapter of Muhammadiyah, Djamaluddin Amin; chairman of the local chapter of Nahdlatul Ulama, Sanusi Baco L.C. and chairman of the Muslim Ukhuwa Forum, Abdurrahman Basalama sit on the committee.