Noor Huda spent his formative years at the Pesantren Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Ngruki, Sukoharjo near Surakarta in Central Java. Cofounder Abu Bakr Ba’asyir was jailed for terrorist offences and is believed by many to have been the spiritual leader of the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah. Al-Mukmin graduates went on to perpetrate the Bali bombings in October 2022 and other acts of terrorism over the decade that followed.

In Narasi Mematikan, Pendanaan Teror di Indonesia (Deadly Narrative, the Funding of Terrorism in Indonesia), Noor Huda focuses on the financing of terrorism. It is a collaborative effort involving numerous researchers, students, academics and activists, as well as personnel from the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK).

Greg Barton, chair in Global Islamic Politics at Deakin University, contributes an epilogue, “The Power of Narrative and the Importance of Storytelling” that highlights the journey taken by individuals, men and women, husbands and wives. They initially pursue a deadly path but are led to one that affirms life. “Narasi Mematikan” shows how that lesson can be applied to others.

The book opens with an account of the characters, the terrorists and former terrorists, who feature in it. Noor Huda examines terrorist acts, accounting for the actions of their fundraisers by way of their lived experiences. Narratives require credible voices, and Noor Huda identifies four of them, exploring their choices as individuals, couples and members of groups.

The book’s large-style format and text make it suitable as a practical study guide. It is accompanied by a short documentary film which has already won an award, the Piala Citra, and a website, ruangngobrol.id to facilitate discussion. Double-page color graphics serve as aids to understanding the path of funds and their use, and the history of the relationship between religion and political violence is traced through the works of Western cultural giants such as Martin Luther, John Wesley and Jean Calvin. 

Noor Huda connects narratives with established sets of values and their interpretation. These can be transmitted verbally, or via multiple media and social media platforms. Radical narratives can be propagated easily and cheaply today using smartphones. Groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and Jamaah Ansharut Daulah build grand narratives to attract adherents with references and validations based on the Holy Qur’an, hadith and sirah (early history of Islam) and its milestone events.

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