Denials more dangerous than terrorism

Liswindio Apendicaesar
Editor of the Journal of Asian Medical Students' Association

PREMIUM

Jakarta / Tue, May 15, 2018 / 01:52 pm

In mourning: Residents attend a candlelight vigil in Surakarta, Central Java, on May 13, to pray for victims of church suicide bombings in Surabaya, East Java, and terror attacks in areas across Indonesia. (Antara/Maulana Surya)

In just a few days, Indonesia was hit by several different terror attacks. Apart from fatalities from the riot at the National Police’s Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) detention center, there were also the church bombings in Surabaya in which many were injured, who will be traumatized for the rest of their lives.

In these dark hours, many people mourn, and we condemn the terrorists’ actions. However, just like the tip of the iceberg, there is a bigger problem beneath the surface that we should be more concerned about.

There are those, and possibly not just a few, that are in denial, as if condoning the act of terrorism. This is more dangerous and may give birth to more terrorism in the future.

Those who are in denial argue that this tragedy occurred only to corner and victimize Islam as the religion of terrorism. In...