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Ba'asyir already funds, helps ISIL: BNPT
Although Abu Bakar Baâasyir, the spiritual leader of the regionâs terrorist network, only recently voiced his support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), his network is already financing and fighting for ISIL
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A
lthough Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the spiritual leader of the region's terrorist network, only recently voiced his support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), his network is already financing and fighting for ISIL.
National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Ansyaad Mbai told The Jakarta Post on Monday that Ba'asyir had been actively helping ISIL for the past couple of months.
'Ba'asyir claimed he had not pledged the ba'iat [oath of allegiance] to ISIL leader [Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi]. That's just a ruse. In reality, he and his network are involved in seeking donations and recruiting fighters for ISIL,' said Ansyaad.
'We have prevented many of Ba'asyir's followers from leaving the country to join ISIL. From questioning them, we have uncovered the scale of his involvement.'
The BNPT has estimated at least 30 Indonesians are involved in the jihadist movement in Iraq under ISIL and in Syria with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), a prominent Salafi jihadist organization with links to al-Qaeda.
Ansyaad said Ba'asyir's declaration of support for ISIL would motivate hard-liners to raise more money and join the fray.
The support would also help unite extremist groups to fight under the banner of an Islamic state, or caliphate, according to Ansyaad.
ISIL, which is also known as ISIS, proclaimed a 'Caliphate of the State of Islam' with territory stretching from northern Syria to the Iraqi province of Diyala.
'All groups originating from JI [Jamaah Islamiyah], Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid [JAT], Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia [MMI] and the Islamic State of Indonesia [NII] are sympathizers of ISIL as they have the same ambition,' said Ansyaad.
Ba'asyir, a former leader of JI who founded JAT, declared his support of ISIL in front of high-ranking JAT leaders and his family last week in the maximum-security Pasir Putih Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island near Cilacap, Central Java.
Ba'asyir is serving a 15-year prison sentence for terrorist offenses.
JAT chairman Mochammad Achwan said that although Ba'asyir had voiced his support, he had yet to pledge the ba'iat to ISIL's leader due to JAT's ties with JN.
'There seems to be discord between JN and ISIL. That's why we've chosen to refrain from declaring the ba'iat, but our position is clear. We support the formation of a caliphate and the territorial control established by ISIL has [helped the movement] gain traction,' said Achwan.
Albeit sharing the same ambition of reviving the Islamic caliphate that ruled the Middle East and beyond over the course of Islam's 1,400-year history, JN and ISIL are largely in dispute over how to attain the dream.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police would only act against ISIL supporters if they were a threat to national security.
'We will closely monitor individuals participating in the ISIL movement, and will assess whether or not they will pose threats when they return,' he said.
The BNPT's deputy for international cooperation, Harry Purwanto, meanwhile, warned of the possibility that Indonesians fighting alongside Palestinians in Gaza would also be lured into joining ISIL.
'The situation in Gaza has ignited the fighting spirit in some Indonesians. Later on, certain parties may persuade them to go to Iraq,' he said.
