MMI not a terrorist organization: Chairman

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.