Strategy, Ideology, and Suicide Bombs

This past Saturday, I left Aceh and am now at a relative's home in Jakarta for the time being.  After the interview that I had with Al Chaidar, he told me that he had some contacts in Jemmah Islamiyah who would possibly let me interview them.  When I arrived in Jakarta, I got a hold of Al Chaidar again to try and make this go through, and he gave me the number of this one man named Mr. Asep.  So, I called him up to see if we could arrange to do an interview, and we ended up meeting today at a traditional style restaurant/cafe in the central Jakarta district. I arrived a little bit early and got a table, and as I waited for him to come, I couldn't help but wonder more about him.  Who is he?  How did he get involved with JI?  The concern that he would be as unhelpful as Mr. Attahiri also crossed my mind as I began thinking of ways I could elicit more information from him in the event that he didn't give me what I wanted.  I was really unsure of what to expect beforehand - what did he look like?  Did he have a beard?  Wear traditional Muslim attire?  Or was he just a run-of-the-mill, average looking fellow?  As reality would have it, when he arrived, he resembled the latter in his jeans and sandals.

After ordering our drinks and starting off with the standard, polite conversation about family, school, etc., we eased into a far more interesting conversation.  Asep began by telling me how he got involved with this organization.  His family are actually Darul Islam members, and he himself is a Darul Islam activist.  He started becoming more heavily involved in high school, but his family were the main influences for him to join in the first place.  When he got older, he did military and combat training in Moro, where many participants ended up fighting in Afghanistan.  Asep did not go to Afghanistan, but instead went to college to study how to become an electrician.  He also emphasized that he wasn't a Jemmah Islamiyah member, but Darul Islam.  However, he did say that he helped JI out whenever he could, in terms of logistics, surveying, and getting information for them. 

I asked him about the ideologies of Jemmah Islamiyah - the fatwa they follow, and in general why they do what they do.  Asep used the Bali blasts as an example in his response.  He said that it's no secret that Indonesia is a Muslim country, and that in Bali, a lot of westerners come and think that they can act however they do in their own countries, and even the Balinese start to take on their habits and customs.

"This behavior is inappropriate...even when you go to the American embassy, if you're wearing jeans and flip flops they will ask you to leave...foreigners need to respect that we are a Muslim country and conduct themselves with proper etiquette when they are here...the Bali blasts were to serve as a reminder to the world what we are and to not act inappropriately in Indonesia."

Their enemies, he told me, are not  just western nations.  Jemmah Islamiyah is also at war with the Indonesian government because they see it as a tool of the west - he used the term "hand and foot".  Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY), although he is a Muslim, is JI's enemy because he is aiding the west in their "war against Islam".

"When the Dutch occupied Indonesia, everyone hated them.  But Indonesians didn't just hate the Dutch, they also hated those who helped the Dutch.  This is like that."

I asked him about the bombings - Bali, the Marriott, and then the Ritz-Carlton/Marriott twin bombings.  Were those final alternatives?  What were the motivations behind them?  Well, apparently there are a lot of motivations to set off bombs - it's the only way the enemy will listen.

So how do they decide who to bomb, and when?  They do their research beforehand.  They have to survey before acting, and in the meantime, they gain access to whatever building(s) they target.  Posing as cleaning service, security, etc., they find out more about their location:  who goes there, what they do, and whether or not they pose a threat.  They know all the clubs, hotels, and apartments and survey their targets for at least 3 months, their longest surveying period being 7 months. If they feel that the place is a breeding ground for enemies of Islam, they may deem it appropriate to bomb.  They look at the places that a lot of foreigners frequent, but this isn't to say that they'll bomb any old hotel that a lot of white tourists happen to be at.  But for instance they find out that someone from the CIA or other government intelligence is staying there or using that spot, it could be a likely candidate for destruction.  According to Asep, they get to know the foreigners and conduct in-depth interviews on them without them even knowing it. 

And then, of course, who does it?  Who are the people that actually carry out the missions?  Well, they have a team of people who do this work for them.  Surveyors, logistics, and of course, the bombers; a group of seemingly limitless volunteers who answer the request JI sends out for people to carry the deed out.  However, they don't use the term suicide bomb; suicide is forbidden in Islam.  The volunteers go through a rigorous screening process in order for planners and officials to know who wants to do it for the right reasons.  They are interviewed and watched, and if it seems that they've lost hope in their lives and want to end it by detonating a bomb on themselves, JI officials won't allow them to carry through.  They actually don't use the term "suicide bomb"; instead, they say "bom sahid", which translates to "martyrdom bomb".  Because this is done for the "right" reasons (fighting the "enemies" of Islam), they will be rewarded in the afterlife.  Asep never mentioned the infamous 40 virgins story, but instead told me that martyrs will possibly be able to spare 70 loved ones from hell; their family, friends, and whoever else they feel should escape the wrath of Hades (er, Satan).  Asep mentioned that there was some type of law in the Qur'an that justifies this, but he didn't specify where.  He did say though, that bom sahid were a way to give people motivation to strengthen Islam so that they can destroy Islam's enemies.

What about now?  It may have been a little forward and pretentious of me to have vocalized this, but I asked him who JI plans to target now.  He chuckled and said that he had no clue, but knows that they are in the stages of surveying; apparently they've already rejected 10 potential locations.  It may be months before they strike again, but who knows?  Asep said that since he's not an actual member of Jemmah Islamiyah that they don't entrust him with all their information.  However, they trust him enough to let him in on some stuff, and since Darul Islam gives JI a lot of protection, they are on pretty good terms to say the least. They have very similar ideologies although they may disagree on things such as tactics and strategy.

"They're a bit too ambitious; their target is too big...What Jemmah Islamiyah needs to do is focus on fighting the enemy one at a time, on a smaller level.  If they're going the rate that they are with these big goals, they could fail.  But if they joined with us [Darul Islam], we could succeed.  The trick is to start small and then expand...Islam has a lot of enemies, we can't take them all at once."

As of now, there are more or less 10,000 Jemmah Islamiyah members in Indonesia, and as they are actively recruiting, that number is growing.  JI has had some influence on a number of pesantren in Indonesia, although that number is quite small compared to the vast majority of pesantren which produce decent, law abiding citizens.  They tend to have more of an impact among young, college-aged individuals and from doing dawa and giving speeches in local mosques. 

Things are far from over for Jemmah Islamiyah.  Although at times they may keep quiet, they are most certainly active and conducting their activities.  From what I gathered from Asep, JI is a force to be reckoned with, and they have the potential to be even stronger if they joined forces completely with Darul Islam.

Terrorism Interview - A Look Into Jemmah Islamiyah

I am currently in Lhoksemawe, about 6 hours away from Banda Aceh.  I left yesterday morning on an L300 - basically, a minivan that people hire out to take them places.  It works like a bus would, with a ticket and everything.  I was thinking about hiring a car, but that would be way too expensive.  The L300 was only about $6.  The driver was an angry looking fellow named Akbar who had a strong taste for Nuu Milds and would honk at things for no apparent reason.  We did stop for lunch, and during that hour, I got to chat with a high school girl who was another passenger on the L300.  She wasn't wearing a jilbab and was wearing short sleeves, and I asked her why.  She evaded the question by talking how good Sharia law is, but finally let me know that since she was traveling and it was hot that it wasn't such a big deal.  I learned an important cultural lesson from her though - to always give and accept with your right hand.  I felt stupid, because this was something that I had always known but often forgot.  I paid the lady at the warung with my left hand without even thinking, and the girl told me not to do that.  "That's very rude!" she said.  Needless to say, I was very embarrassed and have been good about remembering to do exchanges with my right hand since yesterday.  I don't think it will be something that slips my mind again, either.

Rahma, who is one of the researchers at ARTI that was on Jesse's team that interviewed the pesantren, gave me the contact details of a friend of hers who lives here - Cut.  So I don't have to pay for a hotel either, thank God.  Cut is a very nice lady.  She's pretty, young, and extremely forward in her thinking.  She is currently a professor here in Lhoksemawe and used to do research for ARTI.  I am very grateful that she is letting me stay in her home for a few days.  We've arranged for her nephew Noval, an endearingly awkward 14 year old, to help take me around to wherever I need to be.  I'll be paying him about Rp.200,000 (about $20) for renting him out.  Glad it's vacation time for high school students.

Today I scheduled my interview with Pak Al Chaidar to be at 2.00.  In the morning, Noval took me around Lhoksemawe and we saw the beach.  Lhoksemawe isn't too different from Banda Aceh, the only major differences are that it's smaller, and instead of cows crowding the streets it's goats.  When we were coming back from the beach, we had to take a pretty hefty detour into the kampung because we saw that they were having razia operations on the street that we needed to go down.  Not to worry, I was dressed completely appropriately, but wasn't wearing a helmet.  It was nice going through the kampung though, despite the super rocky dirt roads (I almost fell off the motorcycle).  The scenery was beautiful - palm trees and rice paddies as far as the eye could see.

My interview with Pak Al Chaidar later was very interesting.  He is a fascinating man.  He has been following Jemmah Islamiyah since 1991 - before they became a terrorist organizations and were still a Darul Islam group.  He's seen how they train, understands their ideologies, and still keeps in contact with them.  He's been able to do very extensive interviews and research on them, it's crazy.  He obviously does not agree with them whatsoever, but has very thorough research on them.  He knows how they operate, to say the least.  I mentioned reading a couple of articles that say that since Jemmah Islamiyah has factioned off into 2 groups - one that wants to commit acts of terrorism, the other that just wants to do dawa - that they aren't a big threat anymore.  I asked Al Chaidar his opinion on this, and he disagrees.  He seems to think that they do remain a very big threat.  He said that despite factioning off, if the leaders say to do something (like set off a bomb), they will follow their leader's orders.

I then asked him about the strategies of Jemmah Islamiyah.  I learned that terrorist organizations are very strategic in their actions, and that they won't bomb a building "just because".  There will always be some kind of political motivation behind it.  I found his response on this to be pretty funny.  He said that those in JI "aren't very smart", and lack an intelligence division.  "They are still naive".  He also mentioned that those who join JI come from modest economic backgrounds, and are at the wealthiest, middle class.  This is very interesting to me, since I learned that in terrorist organizations, participants tend to be wealthy and highly educated.  However, in Jemmah Islamiyah's case, this doesn't seem to hold up.

When I asked him why terrorism can exist in Java (where much of JI is based) but not in Aceh, he said that it was a cultural difference.

"There are cultural differences in Aceh and Java...the character of Aceh is unique.  The Acehnese are very proud people, egalitarian, somewhat xenophobic, and don't like to take orders from anybody else.  It was the Acehnese who brought Islam to Java, so when Javanese came to Aceh and tried to recruit people into Jemmah Islamiyah, it wasn't accepted.  People thought of them as 'those stupid Arab people'..Islam in Aceh is very different from that in Java.  In Java, there are strong geneological and family ties that people are loyal to.  In Aceh, people are more critical and don't just act upon something that an ulammah says to do."

  He made an amusing comparison of these two cultures, saying:

"Islam in Java is like a Molotov cocktail; it's easy to set off and very explosive.  Islam in Aceh is more like a petroleum bomb; there is a very long process it has to go through before it can explode."

Jemmah Islamiyah had been in Aceh since 2005, doing charity work to help tsunami victims.  But from 2005-2009, they were only able to recruit 20 people.  I think that this is incredible data, especially considering how easily they were able to recruit in Java.  But 20 members in 4 years?  Wow.  I love this, because it just goes to further show how the vast majority of Muslims do not condone terrorism.  They thought that because Aceh operates under Sharia law that the people would be sympathetic to them and want to join arms with them.  What they didn't prepare for was assimilating into Acehnese society and becoming people that the Acehnese could easily trust.  Al Chaidar said that their biggest downfall was appearing so foreign, with their long beards and Javanese customs.  The Acehnese simply refused to accept it.  

After the interview, Al Chaidar said that he may be able to get me in touch with current Jemmah Islamiyah members in Jakarta.  I would love to take this opportunity if they agree to see me.  He said that it might be interesting to talk with the wives of these fellows, and I agree.  He isn't able to because of the fact that he is a man, but because of our gender, he thinks that I might be able to learn some interesting information from them.  Hopefully it goes through, this would be an incredible opportunity.  Al Chaidar said that it would be completely safe and that there would be nothing to worry about.  Since I am Muslim and half Indonesian, he said that they would be fine with the fact that I am also an American.  He just advised me not to badtalk Osama bin Laden in front of them.

I will be going to Pesantren Darul Mujahiddin tomorrow after jumatan (Friday prayers).  Al Chaidar said that it's no problem that I'm going without an appointment and that the Acehnese are very gracious and accepting of guests.  I was able to record our interview today, so that will definitely be something interesting to listen over later.  I probably won't be posting it because it was about an hour and a half long, but I'm glad to have had this opportunity to talk with him.  It was a great interview, he really didn't hold anything back.

Secret Beaches

The past few days have gone really well.  I love my English conversation groups at IAIN and Al-Kafi - they're all such great people, and so enthusiastic about practicing their English!  I'm enjoying getting to know them all better, as they're all very interesting and have a lot to say.

Ibu Eka asked me to give a little presentation about Islam in the United States for her Sociology of Religion class, which I was more than happy to do.  It wasn't anything big, I just talked about how Islam is practiced in the United States, cultural differences, etc. (in Indonesian, of course).  I'm happy to report that it went very well, and that there was a lot of discussion afterward.  Her class had a lot of interesting questions, and the discussions that we had were really good.  The best part about this was at the end, when one of the students raised his hand to speak.  He thanked me for doing the presentation and said that he was glad that I came, because before he didn't feel very positively towards Americans.  However, after our discussions and having had interacted with me, he said that he had changed his mind and didn't feel that way anymore.  I felt excited to hear that, because however kind and hospitable residents of another country may be towards Americans, they still may have a lot of negative stereotypes about us.  It's times like these when I thank God that I speak fluent Bahasa Indonesia, because without this skill I don't think that I'd be able to communicate and interact with people on a deeper level.

On Saturday, the girls at the asrama all woke up early to do what they called "guteroy", which is basically yard work.  Once a month, they all get up early on the weekend and weed the garden, sweep, etc.  I joined in and helped out where I could, and I felt that the girls were all kind of surprised to see me up and out doing chores with them.  One told me that she was very happy to see me, another didn't even bother to mask her surprise and said "Oh, you're doing guteroy too?!", and the head of the asrama even said that I could go back inside if I wanted.  We were only outside for an hour and a half, if that, and it wasn't even back breaking labor that required muscles and loud machines.  It was an easy task, and even someone who had never gardened or done chores in their entire life would have been able to do it well.  But I think instances like that are good to have, just to send the message that I'm not just a foreigner staying in their dorm, but that I'm also their peer and friend.

I'm trying hard every day to be positive, friendly, and culturally sensitive.  Sometimes it's a little trying, because after a long, hot, exhausting day, the last thing I want to do is make small talk, smile, and be pleasant and engaging.  But if I just hang in there for a little while longer, my patience always pays off and people won't see me in a negative light.  It's also so much different being in Aceh than it is being in Jakarta; they're like two completely different countries, united only by language.  It's even crazier to think about how different the U.S. is compared to Aceh.  Despite this, I feel like I've adjusted extremely well and fit in with most of the people here.  I'm having fun, making friends, and being as productive as I can.  Well, maybe I could be a little more productive, but I'm trying my best! :)

On Sunday, I went to the beach with my friend Sarah, who teaches English at Syiah Kuala University.  It was maybe about 30 minutes from Darussalam, and was absolutely breathtaking.  The beaches here are pristine and simply gorgeous.  We didn't go to the main beach in that area, but instead hiked for about ten minutes through the jungle and finally came to a beautiful, secluded beach.  And by secluded, I mean that nobody else was there.  That was a lot of fun, and I didn't feel self conscious swimming and being goofy because it was just the two of us.  

 

The trail we hiked through

                          Overlooking the beach!

                                                    Gorgeous!!

                                            The water was PERFECT.

                                                       The jungle!

This week should be good, too.  Tomorrow I'm going to do an interview with Pak Marzi Afriko, who works at the World Bank and has published papers about Sharia in Aceh, why pesantrens don't accept terrorism, etc.  Next week I will be going to Lhoksmawe to meet with another contact, Pak Al Chaidar and do an interview with him.
I'm really excited about doing these interviews.  The most experience I've had doing research has been greatly facilitated by Wikipedia, and I'm ecstatic about having the opportunity to do some actual qualitative research.  Hope it goes well and that I'll be getting some good information!

Second Week

My second week here has been wonderful. I’m doing my best to make sure that I keep a busy schedule, because there’s nothing worse than being in a different country with nothing to do.

This past week I was able to sit in on Ibu Eka’s Sociology and Religion class, which was very interesting. The students were discussing laws in Sharia Islam, and even though some of the vocabulary they used was difficult for me to understand, I was still able to get the majority of it. They covered a lot of interesting stuff, my favorite was when they talked about the punishment for thieves – according to Sharia law, the punishment for theft is to cut the left hand off for the first offense, and then the right hand if they commit the crime again. Ibu Eka mentioned something interesting about this that I’d like to note here – she said that maybe instead of taking it literally, another interpretation could be to cut off their resources. She said that our hands are our biggest resource, since we do so much with them, and that cutting off a resource would be like cutting off someone’s hand.

This week was also the first week of the IAIN English discussion group. The turnout was pretty decent, there were about 5 students who came the first time, and we’re thinking that next week a few more will come. We’re planning on having different themes to talk about for each week. This week was just an introduction, but next Friday we’ll be talking about culture and the participants will prepare a 1 – 2 minute shpeel about anything they want that has to do with culture. It should be pretty fun. I didn’t get to actually lead a discussion group this week at Al-Kafi…Norman said that there were some planning issues that they needed to work out. But he gave me a few good resources for class ideas that I’ve been looking through, and next Friday we should have a class set up.

Ibu Eka also introduced me to Ibu Ina, a super sweet lady who has been studying in Malaysia. Her husband is actually a director at the Center for Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies here in Aceh, and she recommended that I get in touch with him to see what they’re all about. I still have yet to go over and set up a time to meet with him, but I’m hoping to get that done this week.

On Saturday, I went with Ibu Eka to another pesantren – Pesantren Ruhul Fatayat, otherwise known as Pesantren Seulimum. I enjoyed visiting here more than I did at Tanoh Abee. It was much more lively, as they have almost 1,000 students – about 600 girls and 400 boys. We met with the head of the girl’s section, Pak Husseini. I’m really glad that I met him; he was extremely charismatic and funny. He invited me to stay a night at the pesantren this week to see how they operate, and to meet the girls who live there. It should be a great experience. Pesantrens are normally pretty exclusive and aren’t too accepting of outsiders, but this one is very open and it will be interesting to see how the girls there live and go about their daily activities.

Later that evening, I went out with the girls from the asrama. Like I’ve mentioned before, they’re not allowed out past maghrib, but tonight was an exception because there was a theatre and music performance at the university that everyone wanted to go to. I had a great time – it was so much fun to see all of the performances. Some people sang and danced, and there were also some skits that were performed. My absolute favorite though, was when this one group played Acehnese percussion. They were so energetic, and they kept an intense beat. Whoever said that Asians couldn’t get down has clearly never met an Indonesian. I took a couple of videos of it, and will do my best to try and figure out how to put it up.

I also met some visiting students from Yale University who were here for research. They have this magazine that they publish called The Yale Globalist, and they go around to different countries and write about the various things that are going on there. The team that they have in Indonesia was split up between Aceh and Bali. They were all very nice and we ended up having dinner last night. It was great hearing about the experiences that they’ve had here; I’m sure that they’ll have a ton of crazy stuff to put in their magazine later on!

Yesterday there was a huge event called “Acai Cinta Damai – Death to Terrorism”, which was a free concert with a lot of big name Indonesian singers and bands. We got there a little bit late, but the governor of Aceh spoke about the importance of peace, and how averse the Acehnese are to terrorism.

I’ve been getting to know the girls at the asrama very well, and I thoroughly enjoy spending time with them. They are fun-loving and kind, and I always have a good time with them – they crack me up. They told me that they wanted me to cook American food for them one of these days, so on Sunday afternoon I made them fried Oreos. Because really, you can’t get any more American than that. But I did Indonesian-ify them a little bit by drizzling chocolate and vanilla sweetened condensed milk over them. The girls loved the fried Oreos, and I have been instructed to make more. We have also been bonding over this television show that they all watch called Cinta Fitri. It’s the craziest soap opera I’ve ever seen in my entire life, and I get way too emotionally involved in this show. More updates on this another time.

Later today I’m going with Ibu Eka to FBA, Forum Bangun Aceh. From what I know of it, it’s a volunteer organization that works with people in the kampung, or villages, to provide economic sustainability and whatever else their needs are. I can’t wait to see what all they do.