Preparing for return of foreign fighters to Indonesia

Noor Huda Ismail
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PREMIUM

Singapore / Fri, February 28, 2020 / 11:09 am

Preparing for return of foreign fighters to Indonesia

Foreign prisoners, suspected of being part of the Islamic State, lie in a prison cell in Hasaka, Syria, January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic )

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has formally announced that he will not repatriate Indonesians affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) movement in Syria, except for children under the age of 10 years. This is a politically popular policy given the fact that feared battle-hardened IS affiliates will return to Indonesia and spread the group’s radical ideology and network across the country. Public concern is not unfounded. Some women and children who were embedded within IS had been radicalized through exposure to the group’s extremist ideology. Children were systematically indoctrinated and forced to attend camps where they were taught combat skills and advanced training in the use of firearms and other weapons. Similarly, women were involved in upholding the IS strict “moral code” through formal organized groups such as the Al Khansaa Brigade. Notw...