Jemaah Islamiyah

Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim country and is home to Christians, Hindus and other faiths. In the late 1940s, Darul Islam emerged in the Indonesian republic in opposition to Dutch postcolonial rule which Muslims perceived as too secular. (Council) Between 1948 – 1962, Darul Islam leader, S. Kartosuwirvo, waged a fierce armed insurgency to establish an Islamic fundamentalist regime in Southeast Asia. That insurgency consumed much of the country’s military and almost exterminated Darul Islam by the late 50’s. (CNN) Some time in 1969, an ideologue named Abu Bakar Bashir began proselyting the poor and oppressed with a pirate radio network. (Jemaah)

Bashir, an Indonesian of Yemeni descent, joined Darul Islam in the 1970s and created a boarding school in Java, whose motto was, "Death in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration." The school attracted the poor and oppressed. After he had trained an adequate number of students, Bashir attempted to jump-start his revolution and was imprisoned for Islamist activism. He escaped to Malaysia in 1982 where he recruited ‘paper’ revolutionaries who ‘talked’ jihad but didn’t ‘walk’ jihad. (Jemaah) Bashir attempted to return to Indonesia in 1985 but was ordered back to prison. Again, he fled to Malaysia where with Saudi funding he was able to recruit volunteers for the anti-Soviet Muslim brigades in Afghanistan. Although Bashir has expressed support of OBL, he has categorically denied any terrorist affiliation. (Council) (Global)

Jemaah Islamiyah was formed in Johor, Malaysia around 1993 by Bashir and fellow Darul Muslim cleric, Abdullah Sungkar in order to form an amalgamated pan-Islamic region spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines and southern Thailand. (MIPT) Jemaah Islamiyah meaning “Islamic Group” in Arabic was originally formed to non-violently separate themselves from Western corruption. (Jemaah) The radicalization of JI began in 1998, two years before 11 churches were bombed in the notorious Bali bombing on Christmas Day 2000. JI achieved international status for their subsequent Bali attack on October, 12 2002. (Abu)

JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH ADDS ACTIVISM

Riduan Ismuddin, known as Hambali, added the terrorism dynamic to JI in the late 1980s. Hambali learned the ways of the mujahideen warrior at an OBL-sponsored Afghani training camp. He took top honors alongside Ramzi Yousef and kalid Shakh Mohammed who later flew planes into the World Trade Center. (Jemaah) Hambali wanted a broader anti-Western agenda similar to al Qaeda’s. (About) Bashir believe that al Qaeda’s methods would undermine his long term strategy to proselyte the military and provoke a pan-Islamic revolution. (About) When Hambali became dissatisfied with taking a back seat to OBL, he returned his focus to his original pan-Islamic "super-state" goal. That state would include Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand. (Jemaah) Hambali is the only non-Arab to serve on the al Qaida pre-9/11 consultative council and to hold rank within Osama bin Laden’s inner circle. (Guardian)

JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH’S NUMBERS AND REACH

Weak central authority, open maritime borders and lax, corrupt law enforcement enables Jemaah Islamiyah to operate cells in Southeast Asia virtually unobstructed. It is estimated that 500+ members existed in the Indonesian branch in the 1980s. The Singapore-based JI is estimated to have 5,000+ members and is affiliated with a much larger terrorist network that includes the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Malaysian-based Kumpulan Mujahideen. The MILF trained 500 JI members in bomb making. (Global) (Council)

FUNDING AND COMMAND STRUCTURE

JI receives money and logistical assistance from Middle Eastern and South Asian contacts. (Global) Al Qaeda gave $140,000 to JI over a 3 year period. (CDI) JI is set up like a military organization divided into units called mantiqis and wakalahs. JI leadership acquired their jihadist fervor at Saudi-financed Afghan mujahidin training camps during the late 1980s and early 1990s where mentors like Abdul Rasul Sayyafvour introduced them to an international fraternity of terrorist networks. Afghanistan veterans trained a new generation of JI mujahidin at a Mindanao-based camp from 1996 to 2000. Recruits from terrorist groups spanning Southeast Asia learned AK-47 marksmanship, military tactics and how to make mortar explosives. (International) (ERRI)

The JI network is held together by ideology, training and an intricate network of inner-group marriages. In effect, everyone in JI is extended family. Women are not known to play a significant role except as wives for members in prearranged marriages. (International) Prominent members send their children to Muslim boarding schools where jihadist teachings are propagated. Those schools are called “pesantrens.” (International)

THE BALI BOMBINGS

On October 12, 2002, JI members placed an ammonium nitrate IED in a rucksack at Paddy’s Bar in Kuta and electronically detonated it with a radio remote. While survivors were attempting to escape Paddy’s, a second bomb, hidden in a white Mitsubishi van, exploded outside the Sari Club which left a three-foot deep crater. While crisis ensued at both locations, a third bomb exploded outside the American consulate injuring no one. (Abu) The first two explosions killed 202 tourists comprised of 22 different nationalities and hundreds were injured. (Abu) Regional authorities, who had not taken JI seriously prior to this, arrested more than 200 JI members in connection to the bombing. While Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines had perceived JI as a serious danger, Jakarta did not want to inflame radical Muslim opinion against moderate President Megawati Sukarnoputri. (Guardian) The US also wanted to avoid any radical Muslim uprising in order to enlist Indonesia in the global war on terror.

Singapore proved the existence of extremist JI cells to Indonesia by inviting Indonesian officials to interview 13 JI members who planned attacks against US, British, Australian and Israeli targets for OBL. (ERRI) Those plans included a well-developed plot to bomb a shuttle bus transporting US personnel between Sembawang Wharf and the Yishun MRT Station. Another plan contained details to bomb US naval vessels along the northeast waters of Singapore. Jakarta continued to resist US and SE Asian governments’ pressure to arrest Hambali following 9/11/01, afraid that Hambali’s arrest would generate radical Islamic sympathy for Bashir. Jakarta questioned whether JI even existed. Hambali went underground fearing capture. In order to save face internationally, Indonesia did pass antiterrorism legislation, however, professional analysts believe that only a lack of funding prevents JI from conducting terrorism on a grander scale. (Council)

NEW TERRORISM FRONTIERS

After gaining his PhD in engineering, Azahari bin Husin trained with Bin Laden at an Afghanistan terror camp and produced a 50-page bomb making manual for terrorists. (Abu) JI cells are embedded in normal, day-to-day business and activity which makes al Qaeda style military campaigns impractical. Asian and US officials discovered a solid JI link to OBL when Hambali ordered Yazid Sufaat to financially assist three 9/11 suspects. Jakarta joined the global war on terror when Indonesian police discovered a large cache of weapons and explosives including 1,200 detonators, more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 11 shoulder-launched rockets and four boxes of TNT belonging to Jemaah Islamiyah. Documents seized in the raid revealed plans to assassinate four senior officials from President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) (CNN)

A CHRONOLOGY OF JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH ATTACKS

1995 – Hambali was implicated in a 1995 plot to bomb 11 U.S. commercial airliners in Asia. (Abu) (Council)

1999 – Ba'asyir directs a plot to assassinate Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri to destabilize Indonesia and topple the government. (World) Christians and Muslims clashed on the eastern island of Maluku where 10,000 people died. Casualties were equal on both sides. (CNN)

2000 – August 1 – The Philippine ambassador to Indonesia is seriously injured in a bomb attack. September 13 – A car bomb explodes in the Jakarta Stock Exchange garage killing 10. December 25 – 11 Christian churches are bombed to spark sectarian violence across Indonesia killing 19. December 30 – 22 die in a Manila attack planned by Hambali. Fathur Rahman al-Ghozi confesses to the attacks and Ba'asyir is arrested, questioned and later released. (World) The US State Department reports that JI operations chief Hambali born as Nurjaman Riduan Ismuddin is a key link between JI and al Qaeda. (World)

2001 – JI plays a critical role in the September 11 attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. At least two hijackers were given aid and comfort when they passed via

Malaysia

enroute the

. Zacarias Moussaoui was given money and a work document that enabled him to get an Malaysian passport while he was there. (Jemaah) Hambali directed a foiled plot to attack

U.S.

and Western interests in

Singapore

. Hambali is now in American custody at an undisclosed location. (Abu)

2002 – April – al-Ghozi is convicted for possession of explosives in a Pilipino court. (World) October 12 – The infamous Bali bombing that claimed 202 lives. December 5 – Bombs explode outside a Sulawesi McDonald's killing 3. (Global)

2003 – August 5 – A car-bomb kills 12 and injures 150 at the Jakarta Marriott resulting in the conviction of 15 JI members. (MIPT) (Council). August 8 – Amrozi bin Nurhasyim is convicted for buying the vehicle used in the Marriott attack. (World)

2004 – September 9 – A suicide car bomb kills 11 and injures 200+ outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. October – Former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is elected Indonesia’s president and clamps down on JI and all Islamic extremist groups. (Council) December – A tsunami becomes one of the worst natural catastrophes in recent history, enabling US humanitarian aid to offset JI’s recruitment and regional influence. (About) (Abu) British-born Muslim convert Jack Roche, trains in Afghanistan to form an Australian terror with plans to blow up a Canberra synagogue. (Guardian)

2005 – October 1 – A series of bombs claim 25 lives at a Bali restaurant and wounds 100. (Council) (Abu) November 9 – Azahari bin Husin blows himself up to avoid capture. (Council)

JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH’S FUTURE

Although JI has proven its ability to execute a major operation in a large urban center, members are divided on target choices: It was mostly Indonesian workers who died in the Jakarta Marriott attack. Another disagreement is the practice of fa’I, which robs non-Muslims to support Islamic struggle. (International) The CIA fact book says that an Islamic super-state in SE Asia would have a population of nearly 420 million compared to 280 million in the US. The conscript base of men fit for military service would exceed 75 million – significantly higher than the U.S. This super-state would control shipping lanes in the South China Sea from Asia proper to the Indian Ocean and could stop sea trade to India, Africa and Australia if so motivated. (Jemaah)

JI has large stockpiles of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be converted into an explosive like what Timothy McVeigh used to attack the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. (Jemaah) While the international community can track down fugitive JI militants, “the war against terrorism can only be won by winning the hearts and minds of those filled with twisted hatred from the injustices in the Muslim world.” (CNN) U.S. consideration of regional Islamic sensitivities remains key to keeping its global coalition intact. (CDI))

REFRENCES

About.Com: Terrorism Issues, Zalman, A. (February 7, 2005) Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://terrorism.about.com/od/groupsleader1/p/Jemaah_Islamiya.htm

Abu Bakar Bashir, (October 2, 2005) Jemaah Islamiyah: Special Report

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/000304.html

Council on Foreign Relations, (n.d.) Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.cfr.org/publication/8948/

MIPT Terrorism, (n.d.) Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=3613

CDI Terrorism Project, (October 18, 2002) In the Spotlight: Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/ji.cfm

CNN International, Chew, A. (February 26, 2004) The Roots of Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/07/24/indo.JI.roots/

ERRI Daily Intelligence Report, Zakis, J. (February 23, 2002)

Singapore Offers Proof of Terror Links to Indonesia

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.emergency.com/2002/jamaah_islamiyah.htm

Global Security, (n.d.) Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/ji.htm

Guardian Unlimited, Jeffrey, S. (September 9, 2004) Profile: Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1300964,00.html

International Crisis Group, (August 26, 2003)

Jemaah Islamiyah in South East Asia: Damaged but Still Dangerous

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=1452

Jemaah Islamiyah (n.d.) Jemaah Islamiyah

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from:

http://www.rotten.com/library/history/terrorist-organizations/jemaah-islamiah/

Sydney Morning Herald, Downer (October 15, 2002) Jemaah Islamiyah the al Qaeda of SE Asia Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/10/15/1034561147131.html

World CNN.com, (February 26, 2004) Jemaah Islamiyah’s Terror Campaign

Retrieved November 26, 2007, from: http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapcf/southeast/09/02/ji.campaign/