Terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah's top leaders say it is dissolved. How should its ex-members, Indonesia authorities move forward?

JAKARTA: With Jemaah Islamiyah’s (JI) leaders in Indonesia announcing the terrorist group’s dissolution, the authorities will have to engage with former members in a different way even as they continue to be on the alert for splinter segments and other threats.

This was the view of analysts as news spread of the declaration on Jun 30 by 16 JI senior members at an event organised by Indonesia’s national police counter-terrorism squad, Detachment 88.

JI is the group behind some of Southeast Asia’s deadliest terror attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed over 200 people.

A video of the announcement was uploaded on the YouTube account of hardline Islamic website Arrahmah on Wednesday (Jul 3).

In the video, the 16 JI officials are seen standing on a stage. They include Abu Rusdan, a militant cleric and former JI leader arrested in Bekasi in September 2021, and Para Wijayanto, who was arrested in 2019 for recruiting militants and raising funds for Syria. Both are still in detention.

The dissolution was agreed by the assembly of seniors and leaders of Islamic boarding schools affiliated with JI, said Abu Rusdan. 

They agreed to return to the fold of the Republic of Indonesia and will make changes to the curriculum of the JI-affiliated schools so that there are no more materials that teach extremism. 

"We are also ready to be actively involved in realising Independence so that the Indonesian nation becomes a developed and dignified nation ... we are ready to comply with applicable laws," Abu Rusdan added. 

When contacted, a JI representative told CNA that members of the group were not allowed to provide any information before the government issues an official statement on the matter.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Indonesia's National Counter Terrorism Agency (BNPT) declined to comment on the development, but planned to hold a press conference soon.

RESULT OF DISCUSSION AMONG ELITES

Dr Noor Huda Ismail, a terrorism analyst and visiting fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said JI’s dissolution was the result of discussions among JI elites, including its most respected leaders such as Abu Rusdan and Para Wijayanto.

"Under Para Wijayanto's leadership, there were almost no attacks carried out by JI, but arrests of those involved in the Syrian war in terms of funding, for example, were still carried out," Dr Noor Huda told CNA.

"Those who were imprisoned then had an intensive dialogue  among themselves, facilitated by Detachment 88."

JI was formed in 1993 by Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir with the mission of building an Islamic state in Southeast Asia. Abdullah died in 1999 while Abu Bakar was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2011 on charges of funding militant training in Aceh. The 83-year-old was released in 2021 on humanitarian grounds.

Allegedly affiliated with Al Qaeda, the group was designated a banned organisation by the Jakarta District Court in 2008 after several terror attacks by individuals acting on behalf of the group.

JI saw several splits that resulted in organisations founded by people who were dissatisfied with the decisions of its top brass. Abu Bakar Bashir himself left JI and formed the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) in 2000 before stepping down in 2008 after an internal dispute.

The United States in 2017 designated MMI as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) for its alleged links to the Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front movements. The US views this group as posing a significant risk of committing acts of terrorism, although the MMI has denied links to terror groups.

The MMI as well as some analysts welcomed JI’s dissolution. 

"Groups that have been at odds with the system are now trying to be part of the system. The community and the authorities must appreciate this because it is something they wanted," said Mr Harits Abu Ulya, a terrorism expert at the Community of Ideological Islamic Analyst (CIIA).

The MMI said it felt grateful as JI’s agenda and activities have hurt Muslims and other Islamic movements. "If it is true that the statement was made consciously and without pressure, we are grateful for it," Mr Irfan S Awwas, MMI's organisational secretary, told CNA.

BEWARE OF SPLINTER GROUPS

The government must still be on the alert for splinter groups acting on their own accord, even if JI is no more, experts said.

"These splinters carry out (terror) acts on their own. The Bali bombing was carried out without any support from mainstream JI members," Dr Noor Huda noted.

These splinter groups that reject integration with the government should be monitored, he said. Based on his conversations with JI members, Dr Noor Huda said there are thousands of members of such organisations throughout Indonesia. 

"There will definitely be resistance by the splinters. This dissolution is just the beginning, don't be too hasty to close the story of JI," he said.

Agreeing, Mr Adhe Bhakti, a terrorism observer from the Center for Radicalism and Deradicalisation Studies (PAKAR), questioned if the decision of the JI leaders would be heeded by members under them.

"The possibility of the lower-rung members  to move on their own, against the decision of the JI top brass, is very high," Mr Adhe said.

"Although in the short term we won't encounter threats from JI, in the long term, JI still has the potential to cause security disturbances."

Mr Harits, however, believes the influence of those who are dissatisfied with the senior members’ decision is limited, as will be their resistance.

"Those who announced the JI's dissolution are the top leaders, and the loyalty (they command) is still quite strong. There could be one or two people who oppose these leaders’ decision, but they will not have power and influence," he said.

Mr Abdul Rahim Bashir, the son of Abu Bakar and a former JI member, hopes the dissolution will influence JI sympathisers and prompt them to let go of extremist views. 

"This is a good moment to (wake up) those (JI sympathisers) who are moving underground," Mr Abdul Rahim told CNA.

He hoped that with the dissolution, the authorities would no longer arrest people suspected of JI links. This had been troubling because there was no proof some of them had committed acts of terror, he asserted.

"Hopefully after this there will be no more arbitrary arrests, because now JI no longer exists, it has been dissolved," said Abdul Rahim, who has been listed by the United Nations Security Council as having links to Al Qaeda since 2011. 

Mr Harits shared the same sentiment. This is because the court’s designation of JI as a banned organisation will no longer be relevant, he said.

"So far, the icon of terror in Indonesia has been JI. But JI has become a thing of the past, as has the Islamic State (IS). Indonesia will enter a new era in the war on terror," he said.

HOW WILL FORMER MEMBERS, AUTHORITIES ADJUST TO “NEW ERA”?

Dissolving JI is a right move by its leaders that will prevent members and associates from being a target for arrest, said Mr Adhe of PAKAR.

Former JI members will likely remain active in various activities such as business, philanthropy, preaching, education and politics, he said.

As for the state, the change will pose challenges, said Dr Noor Huda. Security agencies will have to adjust their attitudes towards former JI members, including the stigma of their past association. 

"Detachment 88 used to think of them as a security threat, now they are integrating. So there are other things that the authorities must think about,” he said.

"For example, JI, which is now dissolved, has a large number of madrasahs. How (the authorities can) remove the stigma arises," he added. "This requires skills beyond surveillance."

In its report on Thursday, the Jakarta-based think tank Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) said: "For the moment, the likely result is the flourishing of JI-affiliated schools and the increasing involvement in public life of the men who signed the Jun 30 statement.” 

"What happens to the rest of the membership remains to be seen,” it added.