Why do they turn into terrorists?

Anab Afifi, Jakarta

The Oct. 1 suicide bombings in Bali, allegedly arranged by the Malaysian terrorist duo of Noordin M. Top and Azhari bin Husin, remind us of the terrible bombing in Bali by Ali Ghufron, Imam Samudra, Amrozi, Ali Imron and Mubarok three years ago.

I could have never imagined that a clever student named Ali Ghufron would become a terrorist. It was almost 25 years ago, when I met him at Ngruki Islamic boarding school during the first year of my six-year education there. My father sent me to Ngruki in 1981.

He was a senior student who conducted his last assignment as junior ustadz (teacher). He was diligent in providing guidance to junior students. He drilled us loudly to let the students follow his way to spell correctly. He was always enthusiastic. Ghufron taught Arabic language.

He loved volleyball. He had good communication skills and spoke Arabic very well. That is why he was also assigned as the head of Ngruki's Language Board. He was responsible for encouraging and monitoring students' daily practice in using Arabic and English.

There was no sign of violence in his face. He was just a young man from a remote village.

Tenggulun, the village where Ali Ghufron was born, is a remote and impoverished place, located in Lamongan Region, East Java. It is about 50 kilometers from Lamongan bus terminal. There is still no public transportation from the city to Tenggulun. The only way to reach the village is by taking an ojek (motorcycle taxi).

I visited Ghufron's house early this month. He has a very modest family.

I also knew Mukhlas when we were still young. It was unbelievable for me when I heard about his major involvement in the Bali Bombing I in 2002 which killed 181 victims. Mukhlas also graduated from Ngruki. And another 23 Ngruki alumni have also been linked to the many terror acts in and around Indonesia.

Fathurrahman Al-Ghozi is one of them. He was another big surprise to me. The Philippines authorities arrested him for his involvement in bombing attacks in Manila that killed 22 people in December 2000. He was arrested in January 2002 for possession of explosives, escaped from detention in July 2003 and was shot to death by the Philippines antiterror unit in October 2003.

What went wrong with Al-Ghozi? I knew him very well because his village is only about three kilometers from my house.

How could he become one of the most feared men in this planet?

I studied with Al-Ghozi from 1984 to 1987 in Ngruki. He was an introverted, but polite youth. He was also diligent and clever. I was three years his senior.

Another guy is Utomo Pamungkas, alias Mubarok. The Denpasar Court sentenced him to life over his role in the Bali Bombing I.

Actually I could not remember Mubarok until I met him for an interview several months ago.

To my surprise, he still remembered my complete name.

Without a doubt, he shook my hand and hugged me. "Maazilta shoghiiir ya akhii (you are still thin my brother) ha ha," he joked in Arabic. All of us from Ngruki call each other "my brother".

I could not see any sign of sadness, although he has been detained for quite a long time.

Mubarok, who also started after me at Ngruki, was an assiduous student and very strict in practicing the religious obligations. He always woke very early in the morning and prepared the mosque for our subuh (predawn) prayer. He was a brilliant student and also a hafidz, a title for a man who has been able to completely memorize the Koran.

Muklas, Al-Ghozi and Mubarok are among 24 Ngruki graduates involved in terrorism. But it is a very small number compared to the thousands of Ngruki alumni and students. So let us not make a reckless conclusion that Ngruki Islamic boarding school is a school for terrorists.

As a part of our war against terrorism, we must be able to find all possible roots of terrorism and then find the right prescriptions to heal the dangerous disease.

Most of the 24 former Ngruki students had been directly active in conflict areas, such as Afghanistan and in the southern Philippines. And after the war in Afghanistan was over, they sought a new place to launch their jihad -- in their homeland. Their experience in the war zones strongly affected their minds to the point that they will fight anything they regard as the enemies of Islam. They became terrorists not because of their experience or teachings they had at Ngruki. Muklas, for instance, met Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

In the case of Al-Ghozi, we may see a unique cause. When he was still very young, the military detained his father Zaenuri without trial for nearly nine years for his suspected role in the Komando Jihad (Jihad Command) terror attacks.

Al-Ghozi, since then, had a strong sense of injustice about his father's detention. An anti-government sentiment rapidly grew after that.

Just imagine if we also had the same bitter experience as he did. Whatever our religion is, we could also become a terrorist like him.

This article is just a starting point to explore further ideas: Why the young men became terrorists?

The writer is a graduate of the Islamic boarding school of Al- Mukmin Ngruki in Surakarta, Central Java. He also can be contacted at anabafifi@yahoo.com