T

he country’s liberal Muslims said Wednesday they were not deterred by the renewed threat of terror after a liberal Muslim activist was mailed a bomb disguised in a book.

Liberal Islam Network (JIL) co-founder Luthfi Assyaukanie said that the terror attack allegedly targeting his colleague Ulil Abshar Abdalla was an attack on freedom. He dismissed Ulil’s suggestion Tuesday that the attack was politically motivated and linked to his role as a Democratic Party politician.

“This is more than just a threat to the Liberal Islam Network. This is a threat to our pluralistic society,” Luthfi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

A bomb packed in a book titled Mereka Harus Dibunuh Karena Dosa-Dosa Mereka Terhadap Islam dan Muslimin (They Must Be Killed for Their Sins against Islam and Muslims) was sent on Tuesday to JIL’s headquarters in Utan Kayu, East Jakarta. JIL was co-founded by Ulil.

The bomb exploded while being defused, injuring three police officers. Ulil, who never actually received the book, was uninjured.

Luthfi said it would be naive to believe the botched attack against Ulil was political. “This is an attack against liberal Islam. And this was not the first time JIL has been intimidated like this,” he said.

In 2003, hard-liners from the Islamic Community Brotherhood Forum (FUUI) declared Ulil’s blood halal, meaning that it was okay to kill him.

A suspected terrorist, Abdullah Sunata, ordered Iqbal Husaini to shoot and kill Ulil in 2004. In 2005, hard-liners from the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) reportedly planned to attack JIL’s offices after JIL issued a petition asking the government to protect all citizens’ right to worship and to protect the 200,000 Ahmadis in Indonesia.

Noted moderate Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University condemned the attack, saying that differences in opinion could not be resolved through violence.

“The development of Islamic thought will not be stopped by bomb threats,” he told the Post.

Mohamad Guntur Romli, a former JIL member and defender of pluralism, was a victim of a violent ambush by the FPI during a rally promoting religious tolerance in June 2008. He said he would continue to fight for freedom of expression, including religious expression. “Closing the door to interpretations of Islam is a threat to Islam itself because in doing so Islam will decline,” he said.

The liberals’ mission is clear. “We defend the rights of minorities, including Ahmadiyah. And we only condemn one group: Those who commit violence,” Guntur said.

Some admitted the challenges they faced were now greater than ever. The bomb attack in Utan Kayu came amid rising intolerance in the country towards minority Ahmadis, who some consider heretics. Critics said the state was not only failing to protect Ahmadis but was also complicit in persecuting the group.

“Religious intolerance and the radicalization of Islam are getting worse. The government is failing,” Luthfi said.