Reports say that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir - the reputed spiritual leader of the militant Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and head of the Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia party (MMI) - is considering running for president of Indonesia in elections scheduled for 2009.
While an estimated 86.4 percent of Indonesia's 234 million citizens are Muslims, most are moderates, and some of Ba'asyir's policies, especially his call for the implementation of Sharia law, could well strike resonant chords among many.
Ba'asyir's MMI is an umbrella organization for groups fighting for Sharia law in Indonesia.
While Ba'asyir denies involvement with the militant JI, he has stood trial and been convicted of involvement in terrorism and the recent arrests of top JI commanders have implicated him in direct involvement in the group's leadership.
During a recent interview in Jakarta, MMI spokesman Fauzan al-Anshori said that Ba'asyir first had the idea of running in the 2009 presidential election after a scandal involving illegal funds in the 2004 electoral campaign emerged in June. The scandal appears to involve all the candidates, including Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono."Ba'asyir is considering the possibility" but "he said that he wants to see what the people say first," Al Anshori told reporters.
On 9 June, Ba'asyir's involvement in JI again came to the forefront when Indonesia special police arrested the reputed head of JI, Zarkasih (also known as Mbah, or Grandfather), and the group's alleged military commander, Abu Dujana (whose aliases include Yusron Mahmudi, Pak Guru, Mahfud, Ainul Bahri, Sobirin and Dedi) in Banyumas, Central Java.
Both Dujana and Zarkasih trained in Afghanistan.
Between 9-11 June, special police also arrested seven other JI suspects: Arif Syaifudin, who was caught in Surabaya; Aris Widodo, caught in Karanganyar, Central Java; and Aziz Mustofa and Nur Afifudin, both of whom were arrested in Ngaglik, Sleman, Yogyakarta. All the suspects are believed to be aides of Dujana.
Taking no chances about mistaken identity, National Police spokesman Inspector-General Sisno Adiwinoto said fingerprint and DNA analysis had helped police identify Dujana.
Dujana, who speaks fluent Arabic, and Zarkasih were wanted for a spate of terrorist attacks, including the bombings of two nightclubs on Bali on 12 October 2002, in which more than 200 people were killed, along with a bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta on 5 August 2003, a suicide bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta on 9 September 2004 and 2 October 2005 suicide bombings on Bali, which killed 23 people.
During a press conference with the Indonesian national police, Dujana said: "From 1993 to 2000, Jamaah was led by ustadz [teacher] Abdullah Sungkar, then he was replaced by Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from 2000 to 2002. Then from 2002 to 2003, [JI] was led by ustadz Abu Risyan. From 2003 to 2005, it was led by ustadz Adung, and from 2005 until now [it has been led] by Zarkasih."
More damning evidence followed, with police telling reporters after the raids that they had seized video footage showing another top JI operative saying that Ba'asyir had once led JI.
Al-Anshori was quick to denounce the allegations. "It's a lie. Ustadz Ba'asyir was never appointed as JI's leader. He was only a friend of Abdullah Sungkar," he said. According to Al-Anshori, a Supreme Court ruling had vindicated Ba'asyir, "We defer to the Indonesian Supreme Court's decision proving that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir had nothing to do with Jemaah Islamiyah […] or with terror attacks in Indonesia."
While Zarkasih and Dujana were arrested on 9 June, their capture was only announced on 15 June. That morning, before the arrests were announced, according to a report on the Indonesian Internet site Jakarta detikcom, Ba'asyir, speaking from his residence at the Al-Mukmin Islamic School in Sukoharjo, called on Zarkasih to continue fighting for his principles.
"Keep your belief. If [Zarkasih] is confident that the way that he has chosen is in line with Islamic Sharia, he must not turn from this position, even though he has to face security problems. If he admits to having chosen the wrong path, he must repent of his sins immediately. Then he must tell the government if he actually did do the things that the government has accused him of or not."
Ba'asyir said that he first met Zarkasih when he was a student at Al-Mukmin, when he was known as Arif Sunarso. "I met him several times at some Koran recitation forum in Malaysia. I do not know about his current activities," Ba'asyir was quoted as saying. "I stress that they [who commit violence] do not commit any terror. Actually they are counter-terrorists. Their objective is good, but they have chosen the wrong way. They aim to fight against the real terrorist, the United States and its ally. So they are only ordinary criminals."
The trial trail
Ba'asyir was arrested a week after the October 2002 Bali bombings. He was put on trial in 2003, but because the prosecution failed to prove that he was a JI leader, he was sentenced instead to 18 months in prison for immigration offences. Police then rearrested him in April 2004 immediately after his release from prison and charged him under Indonesia's new anti-terrorism law.
During his trial, Malaysians Syamsul Bahri and Amran bin Mansur testified that Ba'asyir did in fact head JI. Bahri said he was told by Mukhlas, who was sentenced to death for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings, that Ba'asyir assumed the JI leadership after founder Abdullah Sungkar died in 1999. Amran - also known by his Indonesian name Andi Saputro - gave a less damning testimony, saying "I did hear people saying that Ba'aysir was selected to replace Abdullah Sungkar as JI leader but some people also said that it was Abu Rusdan, not Abu Bakar Ba'asyir."
Ba'asyir was sentenced to 30 months in prison after being convicted of having a role in planning the Bali bombings. He was freed in June 2006 after serving 26 months of his sentence. On the day of his release, he told reporters: "I thank Allah that I am free today. I call on all Muslims to unite behind one goal, which is the implementation of Sharia law."
On 21 December 2006, the Indonesian Supreme Court overturned Ba'asyir's conviction for involvement in the Marriott hotel bombing, greatly angering the Australian government.
Ba'asyir has made a number of provocative statements on terrorism. In October 2002, in the wake of the Bali bombings, he said: "I support Osama Bin Laden's struggle because his is the true struggle to uphold Islam, not terror - the terrorists are America and Israel."
Indonesia treads gingerly
In Indonesia, officials are treading gingerly, and there is considerable debate among Indonesian intelligence specialists as to how much the recent arrests have actually weakened JI. Police say the JI structure has been simplified and centralized, and has four wings: proselytism, education, logistics and the armed wing, which was allegedly led by Dujana. More than 400 alleged JI members have been arrested since the 2002 Bali bombing, and Jakarta has prosecuted almost 200 people for terrorist offenses since then, sentencing five to death.
Ba'asyir certainly views himself as having a political role, if only as an adviser. On 19 February, he and a dozen followers went to the presidential palace to urge President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to implement Sharia law, saying: "We are here simply to advise the president that the country would be devastated if Islamic Sharia law is not implemented."
President Yudhoyono declined to meet with him.
In 2004, Washington requested Ba'asyir's extradition, but Jakarta refused, citing the fact that Indonesia had no extradition treaty with the US.
Washington strongly believes that Ba'asyir is connected to JI. On 13 April 2006, the US Treasury froze the assets of four JI leaders.
"As JI's top leader, Ba'asyir has authorized terrorist operations and the use of JI operatives and resources for multiple terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia. According to JI members, Ba'asyir needed to approve significant JI operations, either personally or through his leadership council. Ba'asyir authorized the Bali bombings of October 12, 2002, that killed 202 people. He authorized the use of JI operatives and resources for a plan to conduct simultaneous bomb attacks against US embassies in Southeast Asia on or near the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Ba'asyir also ordered a series of bomb attacks on Indonesian churches on December 24, 2000. The Christmas Eve bombings, carried out in 38 locations in 11 cities, killed 19 people and wounded approximately 120," the Treasury Department said in a statement.
In the meantime, advocates of Sharia law see their time as coming. And Jakarta has already made concessions. In December 2000, the government agreed to Aceh province to implement Sharia law as a compromise to pacify demands for the province's independence.
Another plank in JI's philosophy is the re-establishment of the Caliphate, a 1,600-year-old Muslim religious office ended by Ottoman Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk in 1924, which dated back to the time of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. The idea has steadily gained ground in recent years, and a Ba'asyir victory could energize militants worldwide pressing for the institution's restoration.
Altering the political landscape
If Ba'asyir does decide to run for election, he will face the choice of either establishing or affiliating with one of the country's marginal conservative Islamic parties, as Indonesian electoral law currently prohibits independent presidential contestants.
Particularly galling to Ba'asyir is Article 29 of the Indonesian Constitution that guarantees freedom of religion to Muslims as well as the country's Christian and Hindu minorities, estimated in the 2000 census at 8.7 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively. Other religious minorities, including Buddhists, are numbered at 3.4 percent.
A number of factors could alter Indonesia's political landscape before the 2009 elections. Indonesia's fragile economy, which, while largely recovered from the 1997 Southeast Asian economic crisis, could still experience a downturn. Furthermore, Muslim groups' influence has benefited from increased poverty. When Yudhoyono took office in 2004 he promised new policies to stimulate foreign investment, alleviate poverty and provide millions of jobs - vows that remain largely unfulfilled.
Corruption is also a major concern. Transparency International's 2007 survey places Indonesia among the most corrupt countries in the world, with a lax attitude towards prosecuting offenders, including former president Suharto, accused of embezzling an estimated US$15 billion-US$30 billion during his 32 years in power.
Indonesia placed 55th on Foreign Policy's 2007 Index of Failed States, which nevertheless said the situation had improved from the previous year. "The first direct elections were held in December in Indonesia's Aceh Province, host to a three-decade-long separatist war that ended in a truce in 2005. Former rebel leader Irwandi Yusuf, who escaped from jail after his prison was destroyed by the December 2004 tsunami, was elected governor, sidelining former elites who had long monopolized power."
Further besmirching Yudhoyono's reputation is a burgeoning scandal involving former fisheries minister Rokhmin Dahuri, who admitted in court that he distributed US$1.8 million in government money to candidates in the 2004 elections. Yudhoyono is also accused of having received some of that money - a charge he denies.
Another possible factor aiding a possible Ba'asyir candidacy is the country's fragmented political landscape, with more than 20 political parties. While radical Islamic parties received few votes during 2004 legislative elections, an anti-corruption platform combined with a moderate Islamic platform could well receive in an increased hearing in 2009, especially if Indonesia's major parties trot out tired candidates with dubious track records.
Ba'asyir has proven to be a master at advocating Islamic values while downplaying his reported terrorist connections. A major economic downturn, combined with yet more damaging corruption charges against the country's political elite could well boost his visibility at the polls - a situation that could provide Western democracies with a most unpalatable electoral choice in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
by : Dr John C K Daly
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