Muslim leaders unite against terror

By Peter Gelling International Herald Tribune

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2005

JAKARTA Islamic religious leaders in Indonesia have agreed for the first time to work with the government to combat the recruitment of militants, a move that marks a bolder approach by Islamic groups toward terrorism.

Until now, Muslim organizations have tried to distance themselves from terrorist activities, calling them a problem for the government and police.

The formation of the new group, embracing Muslim scholars as well as the largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, shows a change in that attitude. The formation of the group came last week and was first reported in the local media Monday.

Officials said the coalition would include Indonesia's two biggest Muslim groups, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, and the Indonesian Ulema Council.

The organizations, led by Ma'ruf Amin of the Indonesian Ulema Council, will combine resources to help fight the dangers associated with what they are calling "misunderstandings" of Islam.

"We are cooperating with each other and with the government in order to disseminate true Islam," said Din Syamsuddin, president of Muhammadiyah. "We must control the false interpretations of jihad."

Syamsuddin said the group would distribute a publication explaining Islam with an emphasis on peace and the real meaning of jihad. Jihad literally means "struggle," and is generally understood as a Muslim's responsibility to prevent injustice in the world. But terrorists have seized on the concept of jihad to justify attacks in the name of Islam.

He said the group would reach out to whole communities, but especially to local mosques and schools in poor areas, places that are particularly prone to terrorist recruitment. Analysts are hopeful the group can devise a better way to educate poor communities in particular.

Lies Marcoes, a senior program officer in the Initiative for Civil Islam at the Asia Foundation, said the formation of the new group could be very positive.

"I think it is right to work hand and hand to handle this situation. That is good," she said. "One of the main problems is the concept of jihad and its message to fight against injustice in the world."

Marcoes said more education should help people find alternative, peaceful, methods of fighting injustice.

"Education has now become a very important issue for Muslim organizations. We have to develop a curriculum that teaches tolerance," she said.

The announcement of the group's formation comes shortly after Vice President Jusuf Kalla invited several Islamic leaders to view videos found during raids on prominent terrorist hide-outs. During one such raid, Azhari Husin, a Malaysian master bomb maker, was killed. His accomplice, Noordin Top, narrowly escaped from a separate raid and is now the most sought-after militant in Southeast Asia.

Top and Husin played a major role, according to Indonesian and American officials, in the deadliest terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia - the bombing of nightclubs in Bali in 2002; the suicide bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003; the suicide bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in 2004; and the bombings of three restaurants in Bali last month.