Dyah Ayu Pitaloka & Tunggadewa Mattangkilang, Malang/Balikpapan – The hard-line group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, or JAT, appears to be crumbling after its jailed leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir pledged his allegiance to the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.
Around 3,000 JAT members have reportedly left the organization to avoid being dubbed supporters of ISIS – which was recently denounced by the Indonesian government. The resigning members are planning to establish a new group, according to acting JAT leader Mochamad Achwan.
"Many JAT members are against Ustad Abu Ba'asyir's decision. Many ulemas have questioned the leadership of [ISIS'] Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi," Achwan said in the East Java town of Malang on Friday.
Al-Baghdadi is considered by supporters to be the caliph of ISIS's self-proclaimed caliphate, a pan-Islamic state that the Sunni group is seeking to expand outside Iraq and Syria – where its infamous violence has stoked fear, especially among the Shiite and Christian minorities in those two war-torn countries.
Ba'asyir, who is serving a prison term for terrorism, was recently reported to have pledged his allegiance, or 'bai'at', to the ISIS caliph from his cell at Nusa Kembangan Prison off the southern coast of Central Java.
Achwan said that because of their disagreement with Ba'asyir's move, approximately 3,000 JAT members, including senior leaders, were planning to resign from the organization and establish a new group in the following week. Supporters of ISIS in JAT, he said, were estimated to number no more than 100.
The decision to leave, Amir said, was made after Ba'asyir said that JAT members who did not support ISIS should leave JAT. He added that he understood the remaining members of JAT would hold an event to pledge their allegiance to the ISIS caliphate. "JAT members who support ISIS haven't yet pledged their allegiance," Amir said.
Achwan lamented Ba'asyir's decision to support ISIS, saying the aging firebrand cleric did so because he did not receive full information concerning ISIS. Achwan said it was difficult to maintain regular communications with Ba'asyir and inform him on the ISIS issue. "I've only been able to meet him occasionally, while the terrorists who support ISIS are able to meet Ustad Abu every day."
Achwan said he had been cornered by some other JAT members for his indifference towards ISIS. JAT is among fundamentalist Islamist groups that believe that Muslims across the world must pledge allegiance to a caliph once a caliphate is established.
"I'm not against the idea of an Islamic Caliphate, especially because it will implement Shariah law," he said.
Meanwhile, in the East Kalimantan port city of Balikpapan, local religious leaders expressed great concerns over recent distribution of leaflets persuading people to join ISIS.
Jailani, the secretary of the Balikpapan office of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), said the leaflets cited verses of the Quran to encourage people to join ISIS.
Jailani said MUI would soon coordinate with police to track down the distributor of the leaflets and curb their further spread. He further said that MUI Balikpapan was planning to conduct a meeting with a number of other Islamic groups in the city, as well as Islamic boarding schools and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to anticipate the spread of the movement.
"ISIS's presence is banned in Indonesia, so we must anticipate the form the movement may take," Jailani said.
In Kutai Kartanegara, the largest district in East Kalimantan, a number of local residents have reportedly performed 'bai'at' for ISIS after being persuaded by its supporters.
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/islamists-split-support-isis/