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

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.