Update on Southeast Asian Jihadis Joining the Anti-Israeli Fray

By Zachary Abuza

On 20 July I wrote about a press statement given by Suaib Didu, the head of the radical GPI and the ASEAN Muslim Youth Movement, who announced that some 217 Southeast Asian Muslims had pledged to travel abroad to fight Israel. Another radical grouping, Habib Rizieq’s Islamic Defender’s front (FPI) likewise announced that it was sending some 90 militants. At the time I noted that it could be bluster. While both are zealous organizations, their historical record in sending people to Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere has been mixed. This case is different in that it does involve Israel and the Holy Land, but as I stated at the time, we simply do not know if any organization, such as Hezbollah, was supporting them. It is hard to imagine that they would anything to Hezbollah that has now lasted almost three weeks longer than the Arab armies in the 6-Day War. What we should be concerned about is their ability to network with foreign jihadis and their use of external events to justify radicalism at home. In short, this could be a boon to recruitment by JI and other militant groups.

The story has gained considerable traction in the past 5 days.

Last week, Suaib Didu announced that some 3,000 Indonesians had pledged to martyr themselves in the fight against Israel. But in a public ceremony in Kalimantan, only 100 young men or so pledged to martyr themselves. The media especially in Australia jumped on this fearful that 3,000 suicide bombers were on their way. Again, this seems overblown both in terms of their numbers and capabilities.

Didu did reveal that several of the recruits had come from the conflict zones in Central Sulawesi and the Malukus, the scene of intense sectarian bloodletting in 1998-2001, and an important recruiting ground for JI. 22 of the 217 had trained in Afghanistan according to Didu.

The threats were, however, there: “If, after the 48-hour deadline, the aggressions continue, we can't be held responsible if there are suicide bombings in countries that support the aggressions of the Israeli military, if it is America, Australia or other countries… They will bomb various places, various vital installations overseas such as in Israel and in any country that supports the aggression of Israel and the United States.”

On 8 August, Abu Bakar Bashir’s Mejelis Mujihidin Indonesia announced that it had 500 volunteers who were ready to be dispatched to Lebanon and Palestinian territory. MMI’s director Irfan S. Awwas however, acknowledged that the volunteers were going in an individual capacity and that the organization was not providing financial support for the $1500-1800 cost of traveling to the Middle East. This alone is a major deterrent.

Didu claimed that his men had received financial support from “backers in Malaysia,” Indonesian donors and Indonesian businessmen in Australia.

The FPI, which claimed to have 90 recruits, lowered its number to 30, though it claims that 20 of its men are now being trained by Hezbollah, but this cannot be independently confirmed.

Again, there is still no proof of either Southeast Asians in Lebanon or Palestine engaged in militancy; or planning attacks within Southeast Asia. The threat should be taken seriously.

The Indonesian government’s response has not been terribly reassuring: Though the police spokesman Anton Alam Bachru said, “We will stop them if they want to go to war,” he wrote off the threat: “It's just emotional speaking from them.” The Indonesian Foreign Minister states that the government has no way to prevent militants from traveling abroad: "We are a country with a system in which people are extremely free to travel overseas and no exit permit is required. Therefore we don't have a method to prevent people [from traveling].”

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