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Abu Jibril, an inured, overlooked hardl-iner
“Beware of terrorists among us” reads a welcome banner upon entering the Witana Harja housing complex in Pamulang, South Tangerang, Banten
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“Beware of terrorists among us” reads a welcome banner upon entering the Witana Harja housing complex in Pamulang, South Tangerang, Banten.
It was installed by law enforcers more than six months ago following the arrest of Muhammad Jibril, the son of firebrand cleric Muhammad Iqbal Abdurrahman, widely known as Abu Jibril.
Muhammad was arrested for allegedly helping finance attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in July last year.
Since his arrest, and because of his background, it is hard for law enforcers or the complex’s residents to overlook his father when any terrorist incidents occur.
The US State Department said in 2003 that Abu Jibril was Jamaah Islamiyah’s (JI) primary recruiter and second-in-command after firebrand cleric Abubakar Ba’asyir.
The recent raids have again dragged Jibril into the spotlight as it was his follower, Fauzi, now a police fugitive, who allegedly harbored Dulmatin, the notorious JI field leader killed by police less than one kilometer from Jibril’s house on Tuesday.
Jibril confirmed Tuesday that Fauzi was his follower, but insisted he did not know Dulmatin. He has been living in the complex since November 2005, thanks to Ba’asyir henchman Sutisna, who, according to neighborhood cleric Abdurrahman Assegaf, set him up with accommodation.
Jibril, born in 1957, was a student of the Al-Mukmin boarding school in Ngruki, Central Java, founded by Ba’asyir and Abdullah Sungkar.
He now runs the arrahmah.com, a radical jihad movement news portal, and leads an exclusive prayer group of middle- and upper-income Pamulang residents.
The group was formed in 2006 when Jibril took over the Al-Munawwarah mosque from local residents. Ba’asyir regularly preaches at Jibril’s prayer meetings, advocating a jihadist movement.
“Before [Jibril] came here, the people had a very strong bond. We used to hold social and religious activities together,” said Rangga Baihaqi, 25, who lives in the same block as Jibril. “But now there’s a polarization between followers of Jibril’s congregation and those who aren’t. In some of his sermons I heard Jibril call non-followers infidels.”
He said participants of Al-Munawarah’s congregations were mostly outsiders, with local residents accounting for no more than 10 percent.
Jibril’s radical and extreme preachings were also confirmed by, another neighbor, Wawan, 56.
“After the arrest of his son, though, Jibril seems to have toned down his rhetoric.”
Jibril has a long record of participating in radicalism.
In early 1980s, Jibril spent three years in prison for his radicalism. He fled to Malaysia in 1985 following then president Soeharto’s crackdown on Islamic militants. According to police, he was recruited in Malaysia to fight in Afghanistan, eventually becoming a trainer there.
Following the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Jibril spent most of the 1990s in Malaysia helping Ba’asyir and Sungkar found JI. He was a treasurer along with Hambali, a key JI financier currently held in the US.
Jibril returned to Indonesia after Soeharto’s downfall in 1998. He played a role in supporting sectarian conflicts in Poso, Central Sulawesi until he was arrested by the Malaysian government, which held him from 2001 and 2004 under the country’s Internal Security Act for promoting radicalism.
But it was a small explosion in front of Jibril’s house in another part of Pamulang in mid-2005 that recalled much of Jibril’s past. .
The police claimed the device was similar to those used in sectarian conflicts in Poso between 1998 and 2000. They raided his house but laid no charges.
It was later revealed the police were hesitant to file the charges after pressure from politicians from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the National Mandate Party (PAN). PAN lawmaker Patrialis Akbar, now the justice and human rights minister, was among the lawmakers who stormed National Police headquarters demanding they drop all charges against Jibril. (rdf)
