Term Paper on "Jemaah Islamiyah"

Term Paper 11 pages (3157 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Jemaah Islamiyah

Tracing the Roots and Dynamics of Jemaah Islamiyah as an Islamic Militant Group and Terrorist Organization

Recent religious movements in nations from different parts of the world have created radical changes in the political movements in the world as well, particularly in North American, Asian, and Middle Eastern nations. These religious movements include, among others, the increased radicalism and development to becoming militant among Islam nations and societies. Most often cited as an example of religious conflict-turned-terrorist attack, the World Trade Center bombing in the year 2001 reflected the active involvement of Muslims (specially among Middle Eastern nations) in promoting an Islam-centered human society.

This plan of action adopted by the terrorist group Al Qaeda brings into fore other militant organizations as well, foremost of which is the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) in Indonesia. A year after the WTC bombing, the Bali bombing four years ago in 2002 marked the continuous, active movement of Muslim organizations in promoting their cause of a new world order under the rule of Islam. This paper discusses the extant literature looking into the roots and dynamics of JI as a politico-religious organization. In the discussion and analysis contained in the following sections, the researcher develops the following objectives:

Research Objectives

Main Objective:

To determine the roots and dynamics of Jemaah Islamiyah as a politico-religious -- that is, both as an Islamic militant group and a terrorist organization.

Specific Objectives:



Determine the characteristics that define Jemaah Islamiyah as an Islamic militant group;

Determine the characteristics that define Jemaah Islamiyah as a terrorist organization;

Determine the relationship and development of the link between Jemaah Islamiyah and Al-Qaeda in promoting terrorism;

Identify the religious precursors that develop Jemaah Islamiyah as a terrorist organization;

Identify the social precursors that develop Jemaah Islamiyah as a terrorist organization; and Identify the political precursors that develop Jemaah Islamiyah as a terrorist organization.

Roots of Jemaah Islamiyah as a Politico-Religious Organization

The development of JI as a politico-religious organization has developed two ways -- or more aptly, into two phases. The first phase illustrates JI as an organization whose primary objective is to convert Indonesia into an Islamic state, centering mainly on politico-religious reforms in the nation's (domestic) affairs only. The second phase involves JI as a militant Islam group evolving into a terrorist organization. Ironically, in both phases, the organization's objectives remained the same, but the methods in which JI tried to achieve this radically changed. In the second phase, JI developed into a terrorist organization as it became more and more involved in militant activities both within Indonesia and outside of the country.

Jemaah Islamiyah as an Islamic Militant Group

JI as an Islamic militant group is hardly its description when it is compared against other extant Muslim religious groups. Looking into JI as a religious group, it can be described, at best, as an organization within a "moderate, activist political Islam" nation, Indonesia. Moreover, assessing its relevance to Indonesian religio-political affairs, JI appears to have a less than significant influence over these affairs, since, as Sheridan (2005) reported, it only comprises "a tiny fraction" of the country's population. The organization's socio-demographic demonstrate the seemingly irrelevant influence it has over domestic and international political affairs, which was the organization's nature prior to its active involvement in international politics, not to mention its "accidental" link with the Al-Qaeda terrorist group.

As mentioned earlier in this section, JI's primary objective as a Muslim organization is to achieve an Indonesia that is an Islamic state. This objective is echoed by its member, Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, when questioned about JI's alleged involvement in the Bali bombing: "[t]he world and Indonesia belong to Allah. Therefore it should be ruled under Allah's law without bargaining. I believe the clash of civilizations will continue, but in the end Islam will definitely win. It has been predicted by our Prophet Muhammad." As Sheridan's report pointed out, while Bashir looked genuinely the persona of a religious individual honestly believing in his religion and its objectives through peaceful yet active means, the statement just quoted demonstrate the "radical" nature of JI as an organization involved actively in the country's political affairs.

What this report provides, however, is a validation of what JI aims to be: an organization that helped induce social change by introducing a new world order through their country, Indonesia, which they believe will eventually become a pure and independent Islamic state. In the first phase of its development as a politico-religious organization, JI sets itself as a Muslim group with pure religious intentions, wherein its eventual links with Al-Qaeda and terrorism in general had been prompted by the changing political environment of Indonesia, and its fellow Muslim nations as the need for an Islamic furthered with the increased dominance of the U.S. -- both politically and religiously -- furthered before, during, and especially after the WTC bombing.

Jemaah Islamiyah as a Terrorist Organization

In discussing the JI as a terrorist organization, it is important to put into context the discussion in the American politico-legal framework. That is, in determining the 'acts of terrorism' committed by JI, and by labeling JI as a terrorist organization, mean that the discussion is based on international politics' definition of terrorism. As noted by Wright-Neville (2004), terrorism as defined by the U.S. Criminal Code is identified as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups, or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience" (30).

As an organization motivated to promote an Islam-centered human society and Indonesian nation, JI's cause is evidently "politically motivated," and its act of collaborating with Al-Qaeda, considered "clandestine agents," are evidences that developed JI as a terrorist organization. However, we must be reminded, again, that this definition is based on the American politics context. That is, if we are to consider this definition as what clearly defines terrorism as it happens in all nations and societies today, then JI is indeed a terrorist organization.

Obviously, the definition given concerning terrorism, and what defines an organization an agent of terrorism, is just another perspective that offers one view of how JI is perceived generally through its principles, motivations, and actions. Wright-Neville posed this problem, and stated that "[w]hat is needed is a typology of Islamist political groups, especially those that see themselves as playing an oppositional role, for it is out of resistance to the prevailing status quo that militancy and terrorism can sometimes grow" (30). He considers JI's radical terrorist acts as a response to the prevalent view that democracy is the ideal and best social order that must be adopted by nations and societies of today. Thus, due to conflicting interests and different motivations (i.e., JI's need to establish an independent Islamic state and the U.S.'s objective to promote and encourage democracy in all nations), the dominant political power that is the U.S. -- the nation that establishes the status quo of today's societies -- is in conflict with Indonesia's JI, tagging them as terrorists and collaborators with another terrorist group (fighting against U.S. democracy), Al-Qaeda.

As a terrorist group, JI is identified as the closest network that Al-Qaeda has in the Asian region. According to Kaplan (2003), JI is an Islamic militant group that is made up of "5,000 members, with a hard core of several hundreds of operatives." Kaplan's report also detailed other terrorist acts JI had committed, apart from the Bali bombing last October 2002: the August 5 Marriott hotel bombing at Jakarta (killing a dozen individuals); JI is also allegedly behind the "Christmas Eve bombings" in 2000, which killed 19 people and wounded 120. These attacks are apart from other attacks conducted in collaboration with terrorist groups in Asia, particularly in the Philippines, wherein terrorist networks between Asian Muslim militant groups and the Al-Qaeda are also prevalent. These linkages between JI, Al-Qaeda, and other Islamic militant groups illustrate the second phase of JI's development as a politico-religious Muslim organization.

Dynamics of Jemaah Islamiyah as a Politico-Religious Organization: Links with Al Qaeda

While the previous chapter discussed the roots of Jemaah Islamiyah as an Islamic militant group and a terrorist organization, this chapter looks into the social dynamics that occurred, events which further strengthened the link between JI and Al-Qaeda and cemented the notion that JI is indeed a terrorist organization, with networks from all over the world (particularly in the Middle Eastern region).

These dynamics are identified as religiously-, socially-, and politically-motivated dynamics. While the earlier chapter established the establishment of an independent Islamic state (in Indonesia) as the organization's primary motivation, this chapter looks into the specific details surrounding the JI's objective of establishing a model Islamic state through Indonesia. This chapter seeks to establish how events that are religious, social, and political in nature are pivotal to the strengthening of the JI objective, and influential to its eventual adoption of peaceful to radical, militant measures in order to attain its goals as a Muslim organization.

In this section, religion is considered a primary motivator… READ MORE

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