'Pesantren' face hard times after spate of terrorist attacks
'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.