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