Indonesia | May 14, 2024
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As the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) reported on 4 July 2024, Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has publicly announced the organization as dissolved.
World Watch Research (WWR) analyst Thomas Muller explains: “The announcement came in the form of a videoed statement on 30 June 2024, signed by 16 senior leaders of JI, and has not provoked much public comment so far. It can be read as a consequence of the government’s successful anti-Islamist and terrorist policies and the continuing pressure and operations carried out by police and special forces like Densus 88. The statement as such does not come as a big surprise, since JI had not been actively staging attacks for many years. Indeed, the IPAC report provides as one reason for this move that JI is trying to protect its considerable network of educational institutions, which in turn means a conservative and exclusivist Islam will continue to be taught to thousands of students. As WWR’s WWL 2024 Full Country Dossier on Indonesia reported in January 2024 (page 25), counter-terrorism authorities had identified 68 boarding schools as being affiliated with JI. It is also very possible that splinter groups, not happy with the public statement, will emerge over time and resort once more to violence against the state and potentially also against religious minorities. It would not be the first time this has happened.”
Thomas Muller adds: “Although JI is now officially dissolved, its DNA remains potent and multiple threats to minorities in Indonesia continue. As just one example, according to in-country research, a pastor has been told not to hold worship services in his house by the village head because he has no permit for this. The authorities, however, make the process for obtaining a permit extremely difficult. This is all part and parcel of the workings of the Persecution engine Islamic oppression. The DNA of radical Islamic influence will continue with or without JI, with the goal only being reached when Indonesia implements Sharia law.”
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