BEKASI, Indonesia: Hardline clerics in Indonesia have condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Jakarta by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
Speaking at a public lecture in Bekasi, West Java on Sunday (Jan 31), two former leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which has links to Al-Qaeda, said the aim and motivation of the attacks were illegitimate.
"What they are fighting for is unclear, (it's) only just to kill people. What they want to achieve out of killing is unclear," said Abu Tholut, a former JI leader.
"Look at the victims, (why) do they kill (them)? Rico, a Muslim, was killed. Sugito, a Muslim, was killed. It's clear their motivation has really deviated, and not under the real struggle of jihad."
Another former member of JI, Abu Jibril, who was once second-in-command after radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, said he rejects IS teachings, which accuse Muslims of apostasy if they do not share their beliefs.
The senior leader of the Majlis Mujahidin Indonesia also added that many Indonesians had succumbed to IS propaganda, including some of his former students.
"They joined IS because they said (Syria) is jihad, and this is the real jihad, because they received information from another teacher," said Abu Jibril. "They said I'm not the same as before, and their teacher now is the real one. Their teacher now is in prison."
However, terrorism experts said a number of hardline clerics and radical groups in Indonesia are against IS, because they instead support Jabhat Al Nusra, the Al-Qaeda branch in Syria.
"(These groups) are not ISIS but still jihadists related to Al-Qaeda, and Jabhat Nusra. (They are) actually still dangerous, they have the same ideology," said Robi Sugara, executive director at the Indonesian Muslim Crisis Centre.
"If we compare other ... groups like Nahdlatul Ulama or Muhammadiyah, they are more moderate. Maybe next time, the non-IS jihadists will collaborate with the government in some way to counter IS."
Some terrorism experts consider Bekasi a breeding ground for terrorism in Indonesia, with police often conducting raids in various parts of the city and arresting suspected terrorists. The latest arrests were made in connection with the recent Jakarta attacks.
