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errorism is attracting an increasing number of creative and intellectual university graduates who differ from its stereotypical adherents of Islamic boarding school (pesantren) students and preachers.

For the last several years, college graduates from middle class families have played a prominent role in plotting terror attacks.

The recent distribution of book bombs in Jakarta, and the attempted bombing of a church in Serpong, Banten, were the alleged handiwork of five graduates from the Syarif Hidayatullah National Islamic University (UINSH), the Institute of Social and Political Science Jakarta (IISIP) and the Depok Economics School (STIE).

The five graduates and 14 other suspects were allegedly members of a group led by Pepi Fernando, a documentary filmmaker from a middle-class family.

The police alleged that Pepi, an UINSH graduate, sent book bombs to several prominent figures, including liberal Muslim activist Ulil Abshar Abdalla and National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Comr. Gen. Gories Mere, previously the nation’s counterterrorism czar.

The group also allegedly planned to detonate a bomb next to gas pipe near Christ Cathedral church in Serpong in 2011.

Pepi also allegedly invited a television cameraman to witness the planned attack and offered to sell exclusive footage of the incident to Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera.

National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Ansyaad Mbai said that Pepi, now in detention at National Police headquarters in South Jakarta, was not a typical terror suspect.

“Pepi said to me that he was merely conducting a trial to see if his hand-made bomb would actually cause huge damage if placed near the gas pipe,” Ansyaad said, alleging that Pepi learned to assemble bombs from books and the Internet.

Pepi allegedly told interrogators that his motive was to jump start a violent jihad movement in the absence of such a group, Ansyaad said.

“There was no guilt in his voice when Pepi told me these things.”

Ansyaad said that Pepi’s penchant for violent jihad stemmed from his participation in a preaching group organized by the outlawed Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) movement several years ago.

University of Indonesia terrorism expert Wawan Purwanto said the process of recruiting university graduates has been getting easier.

“Radical organizations have infiltrated campuses over the last several years and it is now becoming very alarming. There are pools of students who can easily be lured into committing violence,” he said.

Another example of campus radicalism is afforded by Saefudin Zuhri, the man who reportedly recruited the terrorists who bombed the JW Mariott and Ritz Carlton hotels in South Jakarta in 2009, killing 7 and injuring 50.

Zuhri and his older brother and alleged accomplice, Muhammad Syahrir, were shot dead during a police raid in Ciputat, Banten, in 2009.

The brothers were both well educated: Zuhri graduated from a religious college in Yemen; Syahrir graduated from Suryadharma School of Aviation in East Jakarta.

Zuhri reportedly recruited UINSH students Sony Jayadi and Afham Ramadhan and UINSH graduate Fajar Firdaus to aid in the attacks.

The three received four-and-a-half year prison sentences in August 2010 for renting a room to Zuhri and Syahrir at a boarding house near the UINSH campus.

Although the three denied they were terrorists, the police said they had been active members of Zuhri’s preaching club since 2007.

During his trial, Sonny alleged that Zuhri and Syahrir discussed jihad during their stay in the rented room, requesting that Sonny to monitor news reports of the bombings and of the death of terrorist mastermind Noordin M Top during a raid in Surakarta, Central Java.

“I helped Zuhri and Syahrir as a gesture of good faith,” Sonny said.