The term "deradicalization" has been frequently heard since the Bali bombing in 2002, when authorities started working with indoctrinated members of militant groups who were in jail in the hope they would turn away from their radical thinking.

It was a method of combating terrorism without using brute force.

Following the Jan. 14 terrorist attacks in Jakarta, in which one of the dead terrorists has been identified as Afif, aka Sunakim, a former terrorist convict, many have questioned the effectiveness of deradicalization.

Director of Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) Sydney Jones said the programs conducted by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) had not been successful in countering radicalism.

The BNPT's deradicalization initiatives lacked a focus in deradicalizing ex-militants, since the spread of radicalism in prisons still posed a huge problem for the authorities, Jones said.

"Many of BNPT's programs have been expensive but without impact because they have not been sufficiently targeted," Jones told thejakartapost.com recently.

Radical teachings reportedly continue to spread even within the cells of maximum security prisons in Nusakambangan Island, Central Java, through routine communications between terrorist convicts and their visitors in scheduled visits.

Among those incarcerated radicals who receive regular visits are Jamaah Islamiyah's spiritual leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and Aman Abdurrahman, the latter is suspected of having a connection with the recent terrorist attack in Jakarta.

An IPAC report on violent extremism said deradicalization initiatives run by both the police and the BNPT in prisons were not always well-coordinated with prison reform programs for better management of high-risk inmates and better prison security.

What was in fact needed was improved supervision of inmates such as by controlling mobile phone communications, forbidding outside funds from reaching prisoners, employing more and better-trained guards, as well as working more with prisoners'€™ families, Jones said.

"It means the prison will have to provide better services itself," Jones said.

BNPT's deradicalization director Irfan Idris said both the agency and the Law and Human Rights Ministry had noticed radical teachings continued to spread in prisons.

The BNPT and police only had limited human resources that were knowledgeable on extraordinary crimes and besides, Indonesia's penitentiaries that held terrorist convicts were mostly overcapacity, he said.

"Now if we detain the terrorist convicts in one special prison, they will reunite, but if they are separated, they will disseminate radical teachings [to other prisoners]," Irfan said.

According to the IPAC report, one of the reasons why BNPT's deradicalization programs to date were ineffectual was a lack of interest from other agencies and ministries in intensely coordinating counter-extremism efforts.

Irfan confirmed that coordination at the government level was still a problematic issue and that ideally all ministries should synergize and make contributions to deradicalization efforts according to their roles.

For example, the Religious Affairs Ministry could help track the teachings in pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), the Culture and Education Ministry could prevent the terrorist convicts' children being further radicalized, and the Communications and Information Ministry could monitor and close down websites that spread radical narratives.

"This is where all ministries should play their roles to lead the coordination of the national deradicalization program," Irfan said.

The BNPT is now in the process of fully operating its deradicalization center in Sentul, Bogor, West Java, an ongoing project that will emphasize counseling for ex-militants to ensure they will not return to radicalism.

Separately, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) spokesperson Cholil Nafis said that as deradicalization aimed to steer people away from radical thinking, the approach should also involve education in moderate Islamic values taught by Muslim preachers.

Cholil emphasized the importance of two-way dialogue, since Muslim preachers could not educate the terrorist convicts to provide balanced information on the true nature of Islam by only forcing them to listen to preaching.

The MUI made classifications to choose the type of preaching and Muslim preachers that were well-suited to different religious backgrounds in each region of Indonesia, in order to deliver more effective sermons to the targeted audiences, Cholil said.

"We always socialize the balance between religious substance and religious dogma, both in terms of deradicalization and the teaching of moderate Islam in general," Cholil said.

Citizens and community groups should also take part in deradicalization efforts by actively monitoring and reporting any radical activity in their area, in order to prevent the threat from escalating, Irfan said.

Meanwhile, Jones said the government should encourage students in computer technology departments in universities to hold contests to find creative ideas for crowd-sourced responses to extremism. (bbn)

Popular

Great Barrier Reef hit by record bleaching

Govt to undo latest curbs on personal imports

Middle East on edge as Israel and Iran trade threats