Indonesia: At least 198 Islamic boarding schools have ties to jihadist networks

Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency chief Boy Rafli Amar reports that “at least 198 Islamic boarding schools have ties to terrorist networks.” Training jihadists at Muslim boarding schools in Indonesia isn’t a new phenomenon. It isn’t about “infiltrating,” either, as the title of the article below suggests. It is a calculated effort by the founders, funders and operators of the schools to teach the jihad ideology to students. It is part of the Sharia.

In 2017, a report from the Institute of Current World Affairs which warned that Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school, also known as Pesantren Al-Mukmin and Pondok Ngruki,

is among the most famous terrorist training sites in Indonesia. Since its founding in 1972, four teachers and 14 students who have called the pesantren (Muslim boarding school) home have been linked to terrorist attacks, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, the 2003 Marriot hotel bombings in Jakarta and the 2009 Marriot and Ritz Carlton bombings in the nation’s capital. The International Crisis Group has dubbed Ngruki the Ivy League of recruiting for Jemaah Islamiah, an Indonesian terrorist group. Its spiritual leader, who is thought to have links to Al Qaeda, is one of the school’s two founders.

Reports about Indonesia’s boarding schools can be found much farther back. In 2004, the Fletcher School  Online Journal for issues related to Southwest Asia and Islamic Civilization reported that Abdullah Sungkar, co‐founder of the Pondok Ngruki schooling network in Central Java in 1971, established JI in Malaysia in 1995 as an “ideological hybrid” of Darul Islam and Saudi Wahhabism.” JI stands for Jamaat Islami — a well known and influential jihadist revolutionary organization with links to al-Qaeda. The Pondok Ngruki school has a sign on the outside of its building that reads “Al Mukmin,” instead of Pondok Ngruki, as it is known. Al Mukmin means “the believers.”

The Union of Catholic Asian News report that is featured below published a report in 2017 that linked Saudi funding to Indonesian education. People tend to forget that Saudi Arabia is founded on Wahabbism and continues to fund its spread globally. Despite talk of reform, Saudi Arabia has never renounced Wahabbism.

No matter how much Westerners continue to deny the link between “radical Islam” and normative Islam (with its clear record of 1400 years and ongoing jihad activity), the more of a threat Islam continues to pose to Western interests.

“Indonesian terrorists ‘infiltrating Islamic schools,'” by Katharina R. Lestari, Union of Catholic Asian News, January 26, 2022:

At least 198 Islamic boarding schools have ties to terrorist networks, according to Indonesia’s National Counterterrorism Agency.

Agency chief Boy Rafli Amar made the claim at a meeting with MPs on Jan. 25, saying the assessment was a result of the agency’s terrorism prevention efforts last year.

“There are 11 Islamic boarding schools with ties to Jamaah Ansharut Khilafah, 68 with Jemaah Islamiyah and 119 with links to [Jamaah] Ansharut Daulah, an Islamic State affiliate,” he said.

Jemaah Islamiyah, which has links to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for a series of terrorist attacks in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the past few decades, including the 2002 Bali bombings and attacks on Christian churches.

Jamaah Ansharut Khilafah, believed to operate in Central Java province, was established in 2015 by a former leader of Jemaah Islamiyah’s education division.

Stanislaus Riyanta, an intelligence analyst from the state-run University of Indonesia, said the revelation should come as no surprise and indicated terrorist networks were changing tactics.

“Instead of using terror, they are targeting religious activities to gain influence in society. They can infiltrate Islamic boarding schools easily and spread their radical ideology like a Muslim cleric delivers a sermon,” he told UCA News.

He said terrorist networks are using Islamic boarding schools as tools to meet their goal.

“They want to gain political power. So, the first thing they need to do is recruit more members,” he said.

He said a concerted effort to root out such extremism in these schools is needed by the state.

“Make sure these schools stick to the existing curriculum on Islamic religious education and their teachers are thoroughly vetted. Parents also need to be extra careful about which school to send their children,” he said.

Franciscan Father Vinsensius Darmin Mbula, chairman of the National Council of Catholic Education, called the revelation “worrying,” especially for Christians who have often been the targets of extremists.

“Islamic boarding schools must be managed inclusively and build good relations with others. It’s distressing to hear about such links to extremists,” he told UCA News.

He said the government needs to act quickly to turn these schools away from extremism and to prevent others from falling under its spell….