Excerpt:
Noordin's Dangerous Liaisons
Sidney Jones, Tempo (Indonesia) | 9 Aug 2009
In the wake of the hotel bombings on 17 July, many Indonesians still seem to believe that Noordin is an agent of the Malaysian government working to destabilize Indonesia. The myth feeds into anti-Malaysian sentiment, with the bombings coming in the wake of the Ambalat dispute and the Manuhara soap opera.
But it’s a dangerous myth, because it absolves Indonesians of responsibility, both for the problem and the solution, and it blinds those who hold it from understanding that the root is an ideology that transcends national boundaries. Noordin may be the most dangerous terrorist operating in Indonesia today, but even if he is caught this time, it will not be the end of terrorism here—especially if he has managed to re-establish international links.
Noordin is no longer JI, and the hotel bombings were not carried out by the JI organization. Instead, he leads a small splinter group that models itself, in terms of ideology, targets, and propaganda, after Al Qaeda. The question is whether he only imitates it or whether he has some structural affi liation.
Noordin and Mantiqi I
Noordin joined JI in 1998 at a time when Mantiqi I, the regional division covering Singapore and Malaysia, was at its height. It was also just after Osama bin Laden had issued his declaration that it was obligatory for all Muslims to wage war on Americans and their allies wherever and however they could. Under the leadership of fi rst Hambali (now detained in Guantanamo) and then Mukhlas (executed in 2008) Mantiqi I was the part of JI most committed to the global jihad. Its members were Singaporean, Malaysian and Indonesian, under Indonesian leadership.
No one should think that Noordin corrupted the minds of Indonesian exiles in Johor; it was the other way around. Hambali, Noordin’s mentor, had direct links to Al Qaeda; it was he who arranged the special explosives training of
Azhari, Fajar Taslim—just sentenced to 18 years for his role in the Palembang group—and others in Afghanistan in 1999 and 2000. It was also Hambali who set up the Al Ghuraba cell in Karachi, Pakistan from 1999-2003; it was composed
of Indonesians and Malaysians, and was in close touch with a similar group of Thai students. Several Al Ghuraba members trained with Lashkar at-Tayyba (LET), the Pakistani group responsible for the Mumbai attack.
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