Lisa Siregar – Dewi Triana found herself sitting cross-legged in a small room listening to sermons denouncing Indonesia and exhorting her to help make the country an Islamic state. But Dewi wasn't looking to overthrow the government; she was going undercover to learn the secrets of the outlawed Indonesian Islamic State (NII).
Indonesia is facing an identity crisis of sorts. Islamic fundamentalism is seen making inroads here, eroding support for the country's inclusive state philosophy, Pancasila. People point to regional bylaws requiring Islamic dress and mobs of Muslims shutting down churches and closing bars as proof that the country is losing its pluralism.
It is against this background that the NII and the Al Zaytun boarding school in Indramayu, West Java, allegedly affiliated with the movement and seen as a breeding ground for radicals, have re-emerged as hot topics of discussion. The movement has been around for decades, but now its stated goal of establishing an Islamic state here seems someone more of an actual threat to some people.
Dewi, a sociologist who graduated from the University of Indonesia, decided to look beyond the headlines to find out what the NII was really about after a few of her friends were recruited by the organization.
She went undercover in the group in 2008 and 2009 and turned her findings into a book, "Mengapa Saya Memilih Negara Islam" ("Why I Choose an Islamic State"), which was released last month.
In the book, Dewi shares her firsthand accounts of the NII's recruitment methods and details interviews with six former members of the organization. Perhaps her most surprising finding was that the NII is hardly the threat to the state that is portrayed in the media.
The movement recently made headlines after the head of the Al Zaytun boarding school, Panji Gumilang, faced allegations of treason. However, the police have dropped plans to arrest Panji for plotting against the state, saying they could only charge him with falsifying documents related to the school.
NII's clandestine operations and controversial views have turned it into something of a boogeyman for many Indonesians, who view it much as they do the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah. "When my mom found out I was going undercover with NII, she became hysterical," Dewi said.
Her first point of contact with the organization was through Ken Setiawan, founder of the NII Crisis Center, a support group for former NII members. Ken put Dewi in touch with six former members willing to tell the stories of how they were recruited by the movement.
Dewi discovered the group typically targeted college students who were living away from home, had recently moved to the city, had few friends and a relatively weak understanding of Islam.
"NII also usually does background checks to make sure their intended recruit is not related to anyone from the police, Army or intelligence agencies," Dewi said.
In January 2009, Dewi joined the East Jakarta branch of the NII, covering Bekasi, Tangerang and Banten. She said the process for becoming a member was surprisingly simple.
First, she had to stay overnight at a boarding house in a discreet location. The leaders at the boarding house gave long sermons to the recruits, preaching again and again about the sin of living in a non-Islamic state.
"They said God would not accept our prayers because we prayed in a dirty land," Dewi said.
The leaders discouraged members from performing the five daily prayers expected of Muslims, saying efforts to reach God would be in vain until Indonesia accepted Islam as the basis of the state. At the end of the day, Dewi and the other new recruits were asked to recite the organization's own version of the shahada, the statement of faith required to convert to Islam.
Then came the matter of money. Dewi was asked to pay Rp 750,000 ($88) as a registration fee, although she only paid Rp 500,000, saying it was all the money she had. The leaders suggested that she pay monthly fees of around Rp 200,000 to support the NII's activities.
"They said it was a form of alms to cleanse us of our sins and showed us verses from the Koran to justify it," Dewi said.
For those concerned about being able to make the payments, the NII leaders had a few suggestions. They said the students could ask their parents for money, saying they needed it to buy books or fix broken electronic gadgets.
The money, they said, was for the Al Zaytun boarding school, where they eventually intended to establish the new capital of the Indonesian Islamic state. But aside from collecting recruits and cash, Dewi said the NII did not appear to be actively pursuing a political agenda.
One member said Al Zaytun's Panji planned to run for president, but admitted this rumor had been around since 2003. Other members were involved in political parties, but the group itself did not have an organized political front.
"I can understand how they might become militant, but on the whole, NII members seem to blend in quite well with society," Dewi said. "Basically, the main task of being a member of NII is to recruit new members and raise funds."
After a few months, Dewi slowly began to detach herself from the movement. She stopped attending meetings and made excuses whenever they phoned her. She said she was never harassed, even after her book came out.
"I think I picked the right branch to join," Dewi said. According to her, members of the movement's South Jakarta branch have reported finding it much more difficult to quit and being constantly hounded to return to the fold.
Dewi concluded that the image painted of the NII in the media as a threat to the state was exaggerated. Instead of pushing a violent agenda for the establishment of an Islamic state, she said the group was more concerned about presenting itself as a mature movement with a deep concern for the lack of Islamic foundations in the Indonesian government.
With its attention focused on members and money, she said, the NII was not an ideological threat to the state.
['Mengapa Saya Memilih Negara Islam' ('Why I Choose an Islamic State'). Dewi Triana, Mizan Pustaka. 265 pages. In Indonesian.]