T

anah Runtuh, meaning falling earth, is a middle-class compound of less than 20 houses that stands on a quiet narrow street stretching 100 meters long, on the southwestern outskirts of Poso City in Central Sulawesi.

But behind the serenity, the neighborhood holds its own proud identity that has lasted until today. Tanah Runtuh is notoriously known as home of the most influential mujahidin (Islamic fighters) leaders, and once served as the base of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

Its long history as the center of the Islamic struggle during the Poso sectarian conflict between 1997 and 2001, which claimed around 1,000 lives and displaced 25,000, may make any first-time visitor shiver upon entering the compound.

A sign reading “must-wear-headscarves area” welcomes visitors to the neighborhood that earned its name from its unfavorable geographical characteristics that make it prone to landslides.

During The Jakarta Post’s visit last week, only a handful of workers and children were seen playing along the street, where a medium-sized Al-Amanah pesantren (Islamic boarding school) and a mosque seem to stand out among other buildings.

Less than a week after a massive antiterrorism raid in the center of Poso City that killed one and detained a dozen others, the authorities have once again linked militants from Tanah Runtuh and Kayamanya, another extremist base, with a string of violence that has plagued the regency over the past three months.

But situation in Tanah Runtuh has remained calm as though nothing has happened, despite the fact that many Poso combatants believed there were still weapons, ammunition and explosives stashed in the neighborhood, ready to be used at anytime.

“Following a series of recent incidents in Poso, I opted to stay calm, wait and see. The fight today is no longer focused on the police. We are still prioritizing fighting kafir [infidels] who are openly attacking Islam like those in the Palestine and Syria,” said Tanah Runtuh leading cleric Adnan Arsal at his residence.

Adnan, who set up Al-Amanah school in 2001, has for years won respect not only from Tanah Runtuh militant members but also from the general Muslim population throughout Poso.

“Once ustad [Islamic teacher] Adnan says ‘forward’ or ‘attack’, Poso will be in an awful uproar again,” said Andi Ipong, a former top Tanah Runtuh militant, describing Adnan’s scope of influence, despite the transformation of his view about the past sectarian conflict.

In 2006, Ipong was sentenced to nine years in prison for a series of killings in 2001, but was released on parole in 2010. Adnan, meanwhile, has never been arrested as he helped the police to persuade a number of Poso fugitives to surrender.

Adnan’s daughter, Aminah, is the wife of Hasanuddin — one of the most notable convicted terrorists from Poso who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in Poso in 2005. Nasir Abas, a former JI leader, had appointed Hasanuddin to lead JI’s branch in Poso.

With Adnan acting as the leader and Ipong as field commander, and with help from JI militants, Tanah Runtuh served as a stronghold and logistic depot in past “battles” between Muslim and Christian communities.

At the time, Adnan’s house served as the supply center of food and medicine. He also sheltered displaced Muslims in his house after the massacre of Muslims at the Wa-lisongo pesantren in Poso in 2000 and helped JI recruit fighters.

Since then, JI has established its Poso branch in Tanah Runtuh, although its presence and influence today have largely faded away.

Between late 2006 and January 2007, Tanah Runtuh militants were involved in several clashes with the police.

The most notable was an event on Jan. 22, 2007, when a raid by hundreds of police officers was met with a stiff counterattack by Islamic combatants, including dozens from outside Tanah Runtuh. Fourteen people, including one policeman, were killed as a result.

In response to the incident, Adnan suggested the police evaluate the way they enforce the law in the neighborhood as many innocent Muslims had fallen victim to such violent operations.

“I don’t see a clear standard operating procedure carried out by the police in their so-called ‘terrorist operation’,” Adnan said in an attempt to justify why Poso Muslims remained furious at the police today.