MMI not a terrorist organization: Chairman
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
The co-founder of the Indonesian Mujahideen Assembly (MMI) chaired by Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, Irfan S. Awwas, says it is not a terrorist organization and denied any link to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) or the al-Qaeda terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden.
"The idea of establishing MMI was purely my idea and it is me who dragged him (Ba'asyir) to lead us here mainly because of his deep knowledge of Islamic law.
"Despite being led by the same person, MMI is not affiliated with JI. The two are organizationally separate and disconnected," he told The Jakarta Post in an interview here on Tuesday.
He said he did not believe alleged terrorist Omar Al-Faruq's claims of Ba'asyir's leadership role in JI and his alleged involvement in terrorist acts.
He admitted that Ba'asyir frequently used the term Jamaah Islamiyah but the two words were referring to Muslims in general.
MMI was established on Aug. 7, 2000 with 1,500 Muslims from Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Following its founding, the organization elected Ba'asyir, owner of the Al- Mukmin Islamic Boarding School in Ngruki, Surakarta, its chairman.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Ba'asyir called on authorities to allow Muslims to enforce Islamic law. The right to do so had been suspended since the country's independence in 1945.
Ba'asyir, who escaped to Malaysia to avoid jail during the New Order era and allegedly established JI in that country, has also published a book on what Muslims should do in the fight for the enforcement of Islamic law. The book is compulsory reading for all students at the school.
Jamaah Islamiyah is thought to operate cells across the region and has been tied to several plots and attacks over the last two years, including a foiled plan to bomb the U.S., British, Australian and Israeli embassies in Singapore.
However, Ba'syir has denied founding Jamaah Islamiyah. All he has done so far, he has said, is simply "to spread the truth of Islam."
Irfan acknowledged the congress had agreed to include a clause to fight for the enforcement of sharia in Indonesia in MMI's statutes.
MMI's executive board initially comprised 36 senior clerics, including Deliar Noor, Ali Yafie, Mawardi Noer, Ohan Sujana (Jakarta), Alawy Muhammad, Tijani Jauhari (Madura), Asep Mausul Affandi (Tasikmalaya), Abdul Qadir Baraja (Lampung), Abdurrahman A Bassalama (South Sulawesi), Syahirul Alim (Yogyakarta) and Ahmad Mansyur Suryanegara (West Java).
However, Irfan said, only 50 percent of the clerics were active in MMI's daily activities. Ali Yafie and Alawy Muhammad were taken off the organization's executive board because both had never been present at its regular meeting.
"We have held many meetings to discuss efforts to uphold Islamic law and published a draft of our own on the amendment of the 1945 Constitution and a draft of the Criminal Code that were based on sharia," Irfan said.
The draft has since been socialized to Muslim people nationwide and put forward during the Annual Sessions of the People's Consultative Assembly.
MMI plans to hold its second congress in Surakarta in 2003, and has made up its mind to launch concrete efforts to fight for the enforcement of sharia in Indonesia.
Irfan, who was jailed for nine years under former president Soeharto, said MMI could help bring the nation out its prolonged crisis through the enforcement of sharia.
Asked about the possibility of establishing an Islamic state in the country, Irfan said that an Islamic country was an alternative to fight for MMI's objectives.
"However, it's not a goal at present," he said.
Irfan said MMI would continue fighting for the enforcement of Islamic law peacefully.
"MMI has never been involved in violence or any terrorist acts in fighting for its goals because such means are against Islam," he said.