Former Jemaah Islamiyah leaders, affiliated schools in Indonesia take new steps towards moderation

CNA

3 days ago

FORMER JI LEADER RELEASED ON PAROLE
In a significant development, JI's longest-serving chief Para Wijayanto was released on parole in Indonesia on May 27.
He led the group, which was formed in 1993, for 11 years before he was arrested in 2019.
Wijayanto was one of the key JI figures behind the dissolution of the organisation in June last year. In a media interview a few months later, he admitted that JI had wrongly followed the teachings of militant organisation Al-Qaeda, which espouses extremism and considers governments as infidels.
Since his release, the 60-year-old has engaged with terror convicts in maximum-security prisons to counter extremism – as part of the Rumah Wasathiyah programme.
Wijayanto is one of the central figures of the programme launched earlier this month. He described it as ideological therapy aimed at healing extremism.
He said that activities in the programme are not just ordinary lectures, but rather a deep presentation using a scholarly approach based on classical texts. He emphasised the importance of using these old texts as they are recognised as authoritative references by radical groups.
According to Wijayanto, enthusiasm expressed by convicted terrorists during the programme was remarkable. He said some were even moved to tears, feeling they had finally found enlightenment after years of imprisonment.
'They said, 'Why weren't we given this kind of explanation earlier, so we wouldn't have ended up in prison?' That was deeply touching,' he added.
Wijayanto said Rumah Wasathiyah is not solely aimed at inmates convicted of terrorism-related offences. In its first year, 70 per cent of the programme focused on former JI members and 30 per cent on the general public.
Going forward, he said he hopes the methods developed can serve as a general solution for anyone exposed to extremist ideologies – even as an early prevention tool among teenagers and students.
Soon after his release from prison, Wijayanto also met with leaders from Indonesia's biggest Islamic organisations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama.
"We request that the door be opened if there are former JI members who wish to join their organisations, because the form of reintegration we seek is not to reestablish JI, but to become part of an organisation already recognised by the Republic of Indonesia," Wijayanto said.
He added that Islamic boarding schools that were previously linked with JI will also learn from schools affiliated with Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama on how to develop curriculum that produces a moderate form of Islam.
Indonesia's national police counter-terrorism unit Special Detachment 88 said former JI members have so far kept their commitment to abandon their old ideology.
'This programme is very good because here it's not just a symbolic disbandment of JI, with its leaders declaring its dissolution,' said the unit's spokesperson Mayndra Eka Wardhana.
'With the establishment of the House of Moderation, they are now open to anyone who wants to engage in dialogue and discussion about ideology.'
'WE ARE NOT JUST SLOGANS'
At the Ar-Rohmah Islamic boarding school, which was once affiliated with JI, significant changes are taking root.
The girls-only school in East Java's Ngawi regency is home to more than 450 students and has adopted national symbols to reinforce civic identity.
After the group was disbanded last year, the school put up a flagpole to fly the state colours. The presence of the national flag is meant to instill a sense of patriotism and civic pride, helping students to feel more connected to their country and community.
Last year, the school celebrated Indonesia's Independence Day for the first time, and it plans to mark the occasion again on Sunday (Aug 17).
'Our contribution from the pesantren to this country should not be questioned,' Ar-Rohmah's director Kristyan Ahmad Saifulloh told CNA, in response to continued scrutiny from the public.
'We are not just slogans … We actively take part in educating the nation. That is something we have already been doing.'
MORE PESANTREN GETTING PERMITS
But change at Ar-Rohmah started long before JI's dissolution.
It received an operational permit from Indonesia's Ministry of Religious Affairs in 2021. So far, 21 former JI-linked pesantren have obtained such permits, which are required by the authorities to maintain the values and basic principles of pesantren education.
The ministry said it is assessing 30 pesantren with past JI ties for operational permits.
Dr Basnang Said, the ministry's director of early childhood education and Islamic boarding schools, told CNA the process is a complicated one.
'We cannot rush just for the sake of meeting administrative requirements, only to end up violating certain principles. This is about the state, about the nation,' he added.
'We must work together to ensure the safety of the nation so that the pesantren institutions established are those that, in the end, remain loyal and highly dedicated to the country and the nation.'
Another pesantren in East Java – Al-Ihsan in Madiun city – is in the process of obtaining an operational permit.
Previously linked to JI, the school recently joined the country's free nutritious meal programme that was launched in January this year.
The nationwide project, which is part of President Prabowo Subianto's key campaign promises, aims to boost the nation's human resource quality in the long term by improving nutrition in children's meals and nurturing better educational outcomes.
Al-Ihsan's acceptance of state programmes is a visible sign of its transformation.