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SpecialReport: Terrorist families linked by history to Darul Islam
Brought together by a shared belief and aim in setting up an Islamic state of Indonesia and fi ghting for marginalized Muslims, the family of Ahmad Kandai has devoted their entire lives to fi ghting for such a cause
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rought together by a shared belief and aim in setting up an Islamic state of Indonesia and fi ghting for marginalized Muslims, the family of Ahmad Kandai has devoted their entire lives to fi ghting for such a cause.
Ahmad is a noted fi gure in the Darul Islam (DI) hard-line movement that sought to turn Indonesia into an Islamic state between 1942 and 1962.
His older brother, Nasir, tried to assassinate former president Sukarno in November 1957 in Cikini, Central Jakarta, after the country's fi rst leader initiated the Nasakom doctrine that combined nationalist, religious and co mmunist principles.
Nasir was executed by the military without trial. Ahmad's sons - Farihin, Abdul Jabar, Mohamad Islam, Solahuddin and Mohamad Yasir - all claim to be jihadist by nature.
"We're all involved *in terrorism*," says Farihin, who spent three years in Afghanistan in the 1980s, fi ghting with the Mujahedeen against Russia.
"Maybe it's because of our vows to uphold Islamic law, despite the traumatic history of our family. "Our historical ties with DI encourage us stay ever true to our course."
Farihin was convicted twice for his involvement in the bloody sectarian confl icts in Poso, Central Sulawesi, in 1999 and 2001. He served time in prison between 2000 and 2001, and then again from 2002 to 2004 for possession of explosives.
He now lives in Central Jakarta, working as an ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver and selling honey and herbal medicine.
Since 2006, Farihin has taken part in a de-radicalization program run by the police and the University of Indonesia.
"Even if I no longer take the violent path, I still work to uphold Islamic law through preaching and discussions with people in my neighborhood," says Farihin, a selfprofessed fan of US coffee chain Starbucks' cappuccino.
Farihin adds he is teaching his three children to follow in his path of fi ghting the injustices suffered by Muslims and upholding the spirit of the DI as conceived by their forefathers.
Ahmad's second son, Abdul Jabar, meanwhile, took part in the bombing of the Philippines Embassy in Jakarta in 2000 that killed two and injured dozens, including Philippines Ambassador Leonides Caday.
He is now serving a 20-year sentence at the notorious Nusakambangan Penitentiary off Central Java.
Ahmad's third son, Mohamad Islam, was involved in the Poso conflicts and jailed for nine months, while his fourth son, Solahuddin, was involved in bombing the Atrium Senen Mall in Central Jakarta in 2001.
Solahuddin was recently released from prison. The fi fth brother, Mohamad Yasir, was also involved in the Poso conflict, but was cleared of all charges.
Another notorious DI-linked family is the Al-Ghozi family. The senior Al-Ghozi was a top DI member who was jailed under Sukarno.
His eldest son, Faturrahman Al-Ghozi, was shot dead by Philippine police for his involvement in a bombing in Manila in 2000.
Younger brother Ahmad Rofiq Ridho is currently serving a jail term for sheltering Malaysian fugitive Noordin M. Top, Southeast Asia's most wanted terrorist.
DI is to some extent ingrained within the structure of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) and even in several elite levels of an Islamic party.
DI, also known also as the Indonesian Islamic State (NII) is a hardcore political movement proclaimed on Aug. 7, 1949, by Sekarmadji Maridjan Kartosoewirjo in Tasikmalaya, West Java.
Kartosoewirjo's execution by the military in 1962 offi cially ended the movement, but splinters of the organization exist to this day, although at a clandestine level.
Intelligence expert Dino Chrisbon believes the current suspects in the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotel bombings are not linked to JI, but come from cells aimed at reviving the DI movement.
"These members now identify themselves as the DI and NII movements," he says.
"By qualifi cation, these people are just as dangerous as their predecessors. Thus there is no reason to stop the surveillance of these men."
Analysts also believe Noordin has been recruiting from within DI ranks because of the followers' familiarity with the ideology he espouses.
With the government lacking a comprehensive de-radicalization program, it remains to be seen whether the thousands of descendants of DI followers are gaining strength and giving rise to extremists and further terrorism across the archipelago.
