Students defend jihad against 'enemies'

Students defend jihad against 'enemies'

Alam, 17, suddenly frowned when he was asked about suggestions that the pesantren (Islamic boarding school) he was attending was a breeding ground for terrorists.

"No, it's a lie. The accusation is made by certain parties, especially the U.S., just to hinder pesantren from growing and to give Islam a bad name," said Alam, a santri (pesantren student) at the Al Mukmin in Ngruki, Solo, Central Java, last week.

Alam, who hails from Flores, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), is one of over 2,000 santri currently studying at the Islamist school.

The school was founded in 1972 by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir together with Abdullah Sungkar, the alleged co-founders of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), a regional terrorist network linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.

Police have accused JI of being behind a series of terrorist attacks in the country, including the deadly Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, and the JW Marriott attack on Aug. 5, 2003. Over 200 people were killed in those bombings.

Ba'asyir was sentenced to four years in jail earlier this year for his involvement in a number of anti-government plots, but not for any charges of terror-related activity.

Hamzah, 16, who comes from Jakarta, shared a similar opinion with Alam. Two other santri Panji, 17, and Nurdin, 18, both from Maluku expressed a more ominous reply.

"I believe that it is the enemies of the Muslims were responsible for those (terrorist attacks). They want us to stay weak so that they can rule over us," Panji claimed with the voice of a true-believer.

Al Mukmin consists of four separate buildings, with the main building containing a two-story dormitory, separate boy and girl classrooms, and a mosque at the center of activities.

Many defiant slogans decorate the walls around the buildings. Most expressions were urging Muslims to keep on fighting to defend their religion. The word jihad, a holy war for Muslims to fight evil, was the most frequent expression found on the walls.

"We have to defend Islam with jihad wherever we are. The holy war carries many meanings, not only war using guns but with many other instruments," said Muhammad S. Safitri, one of the ustadz (pesantren teacher) of Al Mukmin. The pesantren has over 150 ustadz.

The mood was also found among the students at the pesantren Al Islam at Tenggulun in Lamongan, East Java.

Al Islam is linked to Al Mukmin through Muhammad Zakaria, an Al Mukmin alumni, who was asked by Mohammed Chozin, the founder of Al Islam, to lead the pesantren in 1992.

Three of Mohammed Chozin's brothers -- Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Ali Imron -- were convicted for their key roles in the Bali terror attacks. Amrozi and Ali Gufron were sentenced to death while Ali Imron got a life sentence.

"It is impossible for this pesantren to produce a terrorist because we are not taught to be one. There is no military training here," argued Arif Saputra, 19, a santri from Ambon.

Another santri, Salman, 19, from Flores concurred with Arif, but then went on to stress that what the Bali bombers did was justified by the Koran.

"Amrozi and the others did the right thing because they destroyed immoral behavior in such places," exclaimed Salman.

"One of the verses in the Koran states that Muslims must destroy its enemies even with war. However, there are many interpretations regarding the word war. It can mean a real war or dakwah (preaching Islam)," said Chozin, 47.

"My three brothers interpreted the verse in their own way. However, they have never shown regret, except for Ali Imron. Both Amrozi and Gufron, when I saw them in prison in August, felt that the time they had spent in jail was the happiest moment of their lives," he said. -- Abdul Khalik