'Pesantren' face hard times after spate of terrorist attacks

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post/Bogor

Pesantren around the country have been associated with terrorism since a series of terrorist attacks began in this country several years ago, including the Bali and Marriott bombings. Is this perception true? The Jakarta Post's Yuli Tri Suwarni recently attended a debate and public speaking competition in Bogor and examined some of the challenges faced by the pesantren after it was discovered that most of the home-grown terrorists were schooled at pesantren. This is the first of three articles.

Pesantren are breeding grounds for terrorism, or so it has been said since a spate of terrorist attacks have rocked the country in recent years. The various pesantren have been called by certain parties "breeding grounds of terror", especially after some of the bombers arrested and convicted were schooled at pesantren, most notably, the Al Mukmin Islamic Boarding School led by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and based in Ngruki, Central Java.

Since the prosecution of Al Mukmin alumni, the institute has been called a place that produces hard-line students ready to struggle by any means necessary to protect and propagate Islam, which may also include killing people. Fellow Indonesians and foreigners also seem to believe that some of the country's pesantren could be linked to international terrorist networks.

As such suspicions run high, the international community has begun to encourage the introduction of democracy and human rights at pesantren as part of precautionary measures against terrorists.

One such measure was carried out by the United States government, which recently donated literature on America and democracy to some pesantren in the country. Some pesantren students have also had a chance to visit America in order to "revise" their thoughts on the country, which is often referred to by Muslim hard-liners as the "Great Satan".

Many foreign journalists have also visited Al Mukmin to see for themselves what was going on in one of the schools accused of harboring terrorists.

As the stigma has become deeply entrenched, the Indonesian Islamic Boarding School Cooperation Body (BKSPPI) held a strategic campaign to restore the image of their schools.

For the first time, they held English public speaking and debate competitions last week entitled The Human Rights Public Speaking Competition. The three-day event was held in Bogor with hundreds of participants from a variety of provinces nationwide. Members of the jury said they were surprised by the performances from the students. The participants, they said, spoke English very well and expressed their thoughts clearly and systematically.

Generally, they condemned terrorist attacks and violence. "Islam respects human rights," they argued.

Dedy Muhadi, a student at Nurul Hakim Islamic Boarding School in West Nusa Tenggara, explained to the audience that "Islam loved peace."

"We are never taught of committing violence and doing harm against other people. Islam is mercy for all. How can it be mercy and benefit all people if it is spread through violence means?" said Dedy during his speech in English.

Similar comments were also aired by Hamid Afif, 18, a student from Al Amien Islamic Boarding School in Madura, East Java. Afif stated that Islam promoted goodness for all people.

"So this is not true if Islam is associated with terrorism. The terrorists are very small parts of pesantren alumni and they do not represent the pesantren. Pesantren and Islam do not endorse violence," Afif asserted.

Afif went on to add that some pesantren alumni, including Imam Samudra, who was convicted as one of the key operatives behind the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, might have been uninformed about Islam, "if they (Bali bombers) really understand Islam, they will not be terrorists."

Afif and Dedy are just two of many pesantren students lucky enough to have earned a good education from some of the top boarding schools in their respective areas. A well-rounded education has helped to broaden their minds. However, there are many more pesantren nationwide, which are not doing so well. They are short of funds and cannot produce high quality students like Afif and Dedy. Many lack sufficient reading materials and quality teachers.

Noted Muslim figure Emha Ainun Najib wrote an opinion piece in March about how difficult it is for pesantren alumni to get jobs.

The alumni, in general, cannot compete with job-seekers who graduated from other private schools or state schools as they are not adequately trained in the hard sciences or other practical skills.

"They are often rejected by employers, because many regard them as only capable of being preachers," said Emha.

This dilemma has created concern as the number of pesantren students is quite large. Emha estimates that between 1970 and 2000, the country's pesantren produced 40 million alumni, most of who come from the lowest income bracket.

The figure makes sense. According to data from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the number of pesantren in 1977 was 4,195 with 677,394 students. In 1985, the number rose to 6,239 schools with 1,084,801 students and six years later, the number of rose to 11,312 schools with 2,737,805 students.

"With a lack of skills, how can they survive amid the tough competition in the job market?" worried Emha.

Prof. Afif Muhammad, an expert on modern Islamic thought at Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic Institute in Bandung, alleged that the difficulty in finding jobs, which led them to or kept them in poverty, was the reason behind the rampant terrorism phenomenon.

"On behalf of jihad, they are easily nurtured and persuaded by irresponsible persons in order to commit violence," said Afif. Given the lingering poverty among the pesantren alumni, improving their economic opportunities could be one alternative to help them steer clear of terror recruiters.