-Caveat Lector- This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Indonesian Preacher Is Behind Radical Network, Report Says August 11, 2002 By JANE PERLEZ JAKARTA, Indonesia, Aug. 10 - A militant preacher, who returned to Indonesia after years in exile, became the fulcrum for an even more radical network that wanted to establish a pan-Islamic state of several countries across Southeast Asia, according to a new report. The preacher, Akbar Bashir, increased his contacts with Al Qaeda and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood while he was in Malaysia and had a hand in recruiting men for training in Afghanistan, the account says. Mr. Bashir, an Indonesian of Yemeni descent and well known here for his televised image of his white beard, white garb and big grin, remains the head of a boarding school here although the United States has asked Indonesia to arrest him. The International Crisis Group, a private research group based in Brussels, released the report written by its director here, an American, Sidney Jones. An expert on Indonesian Islam, Ms. Jones was until recently the Asia director of Human Rights Watch. Her report delves into 30 years of activities by Islamic radicals, and paints a far more intricate picture of their work than that previously described by officials who have warned of Indonesia's vulnerability to Islamic extremism. The network of Islamic teachers, some businessmen and militiamen was born of a rebellion by Islamic militants against the authoritarian rule of President Suharto, who came to power in the 1960's, the report found. The group coalesced in the 1970's and was given fresh impetus when Mr. Bashir, imprisoned by President Suharto, was released and then fled to Malaysia in the 1980's. He returned after the fall of President Suharto in 1998. He now runs a boarding school in central Java. Because Indonesia remains a secular state, which the Bush administration is trying to exhibit as a model moderate Muslim country, and because it is often regarded as the "silent giant" of Southeast Asia with a long shadow over the region, the new information has attracted attention, Western diplomats said. "Indonesia is the big prize for the militants in the Middle East," said an experienced diplomat here. "We know the militants here want to ultimately establish a pan-Islamic state of Indonesia, Malaysia and the southern part of the Philippines." The militants described in the Jones report were as well organized as old-fashioned Communist Party cells, and their relationship to Al Qaeda was akin to franchiser and franchisee, this diplomat said. Ms. Jones describes a large cast of characters, some of whom she says went to radical Islamic centers in Germany and Holland, and traveled to Afghanistan for training. Other than Mr. Bashir, the central players in her report are a confidant, Hambali, alias Riduan Isamuddin, who is thought to be Al Qaeda's main Indonesian contact; another colleague, Abu Jibril, who has been described as a financial conduit for Al Qaeda in the region; and Abdul Wahid Kadunnga, who looked after Mr. Bashir when he went into exile. Of these four, the whereabouts of Mr. Kadunnga and Mr. Hambali remain a mystery, although Western officials believe they are hiding among the 13,000 islands that make up Indonesia. Mr. Jibril was arrested in Malaysia in January on charges of being part of a plot to blow up the American Embassy in Singapore. Washington has urged Indonesia to arrest Mr. Bashir, but the government says it cannot find anything that he has done to violate Indonesian law. The government of President Megawati Sukarnoputri has indicated it is unprepared to antagonize the Islamic political parties by arresting him. Mr. Bashir began as a charismatic teacher who attracted like-minded militant teachers and students to the school he founded in the 1970's in the village of Ngruki just outside Solo, a city with a tradition of extremism. At that time, he established Jemaah Islamiyah, the precursor to an organization of the same name that, according to the government of Singapore, he recalibrated in Malaysia. Thirteen members of that organization were arrested in January on charges of plotting to blow up the American Embassy in Singapore. Eight of the 13 reportedly had training in Qaeda camps in Afghanistan, Ms. Jones notes in her report. Even before he worked in Malaysia, Mr. Bashir was intent on encouraging his followers to take violent action, she asserts. In the early days of his school, one of the lecturers wrote a book urging Muslims to go to war against enemies of Islam. While Ms. Jones presents many details on the Islamic network, much of it garnered from Islamic publications and sources, as well as records from the Indonesian courts, she counsels care in how the West should deal with Indonesia. (Her document includes a list of 44 names of people she cites as having some involvement with Mr. Bashir's activities or having been inspired by them.) For now, she writes: "Indonesia is not a terrorist hotbed. Proponents of radical Islam remain a small minority." But she adds, "Even a tiny group of people can cause an immense amount of damage." The challenge, she concluded, is for Indonesia and its allies to "be alert to the possibility of individuals making common cause with international criminals" without undermining the country's fragile democracy. Repression by the Suharto government gave birth to the network and repression now could serve to invigorate it, she added. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/11/international/asia/11WEB-INDO.html?ex=1030036049&ei=1&en=877bda2f87c37fd9 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
