Ulma Haryanto – Leaders of hard-line Islamic organizations are expected to hold a meeting to discuss the Setara Institute of Peace and Democracy's "slanderous" report against them.
Setara, an organization known for advocating pluralism, released a report in December 2010 titled "Religious Radicalism in Greater Jakarta and West Java," detailing how radical Muslim groups were shoring up their support by forging political alliances and embracing more liberal groups and moderate clerics.
Muhammad Al Khaththath, the leader of Islamic's People Forum (FUI), told Islamic news portal voa-islam.com that they intend to counter the slanderous claims in the report. "[Setara] has tainted the good name of the organizations and their leaders," he said.
The news portal has been noted by the International Crisis Group as a key media node for the Islamist movement in the country, as well as a facilitator of the tactical alliance between violent and non-violent extremists.
Al Khaththath received special mention in the report as the founder and leader of FUI, a relatively new group founded in 2005. He was described as "an expert lobbyist" who appeared to be particularly adept at courting politicians and infiltrating the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI).
"The report is bogus, not credible and baseless," Al Khaththath said. "I was never even interviewed by Setara."
Al Khaththath started out with well-known ultra-conservative group Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia, and was one of its chairmen when the HTI formed the FUI along with eight other organizations, including the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Nahdlatul Ulama, Muhammadiyah, Indonesian Islamic Propagation Council (DDII), Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Crescent Star Party (PBB).
NU and Muhammadiyah, the nation's two biggest Islamic organizations, are considered moderate. The conservative PKS is the fourth-biggest political party in the country.
But Setara's Ismail Hasani explained that the information on Al Khaththath in the report was gathered through covert interviews, because they were worried they wouldn't get truthful answers if the interview subjects knew that the questions were for.
"Covert and in-depth interviews with knowledgeable sources whose identities are protected is a verified research method. Besides [the leaders'] numerous public statements in media can also be used," he said.
Aside from FPI's Habib Rizieq and FUI's Al Khaththath, other organization leaders mentioned in the report were directly interviewed by Setara.