Counterterrorism Blog

Once again Thailand has brought in another Muslim dignitary in the hopes that they will be able to miraculously quell the violence in the restive south, in which nearly 2,400 people have been killed since the start of 2004.

In late June, the head of the quasi-official Saudi agency, the Muslim World League, Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki, came and white washed any religious or ideological affinity of the insurgents. The MWL is one of the primary means that the Saudi government exports their virulent and intolerant version of Islam, often termed Wahhabism. Yet the Thai government is in denial that there is any correlation between the current outbreak of violence and the spread of Salafi/Wahhabism into the region. Southerners repeatedly tell me that the current generation of militants is comprised of ideological hardliners, completely intolerant of non-Muslims and moderate Muslims who seek accommodation with the Thai state. To wit, roughly 55 percent of the victims of the insurgent have been their co-religionists.

Yesterday’s visit of Din Syamsuddin, the head of Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization, the Muhammidiyah, and the Vice Chairman of the Ulama’s Council of Indonesia, came to Thailand. The Thai government would have done itself a great service if they had done their homework on this “moderate” Muslim. Yes, the American-educated Din can be charming and to the English language media and audiences; but if you look at what he says and does in Indonesia, you would see that Din is part of the problem, not the solution to sectarian woes.

• Last year during the Israeli-Hezbollah war, Din Syamsuddin, was quoted in the Jakarta Post as saying, “There is no need to send [Indonesian] men there. I think we should donate more money to help Hezbollah and Hamas fighters buy more weapons.” Din Syamsuddin claimed that the Muhammidiyah had already donated money to Hamas and delivered it to the PLO “Embassy” in Jakarta. Not withstanding their popular support among certain segments of the population, Hezbollah and Hamas are terrorist organizations.

• In 1998-2001, Din Syamsuddin used his position in the MUI to call for recruits to travel to the conflict zones in Indonesia to engage in sectarian conflict against Christians and Hindus. Din was one of the leading voices for the jihad in Maluku, which he saw as part of an international conspiracy to carve out a Christian republic in the heart of Indonesia and “Christianize” the nation. Some 6,000 people were killed in that conflict, which still simmers to this day. It should also be noted that the terrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah was leading the sectarian bloodletting in this period, through its two paramilitaries, the Laskar Jundullah and Laskar Mujihidin. He explicitly encouraged the Laskar Jihad to fight on behalf of the Muslims in the Malukus.

• Din Syamsuddin has publicly supported defended many militants and radical Islamists. These include Ja’far Umar Thalib, who was arrested, not for leading some 3,000 machete wielding Islamist thugs to the Malukus to fight Christians, but for leading the stoning of an adulterer in an area that he had unilaterally implemented Sharia law. Din has also repeatedly defended Abu Bakar Ba’asyir the convicted Amir, or spiritual leader, of Jemaah Islamiyah, including high profile visits to prison when Ba’asyir was incarcerated.

• Din is exceptionally janus-faced about his support for an Islamic state, and he tailors his remarks to each constituency. While not explicitly supporting sharia, he has repeatedly stated that he is all for “internal debate” on the possibilities of Indonesia adopting Islamic law. He likewise counsels against confronting radicals, preferring to accommodate them: “It is unwise to confront the radicals—better to keep them inside.”

• In July 2005, Din oversaw the quadrennial meeting of the MUI that saw the issuing of 11 unequivocally hardline fatwas. These fatwas amongst other things banned “liberal Islamic thought,” secularism, religious pluralism, inter-faith marriage, inter-faith prayers led by non-Muslims and women leading prayers attended by men. As Ma’aruf Amin, chief the MUI's Fatwa Commission, warned, “This is a reminder for Muslims to follow the religion in a correct way and not to try to deviate from the principles.” The fatwas had three specific target groups: Christians, the Liberal Islam Network (JIL) and a Muslim sect, the Ahmadiyah.

This is Thailand’s newest “ambassador for peace” in the south? No wonder the situation has only gotten worse since the coup. If the government and Council on National Security can’t even do basic due diligence, can we really expect them to come up with a viable counter-insurgency strategy?