BNPT vs "Inner Home" of Jamaah Islamiyah

One of the complex challenges of Comr. Gen. Rycko Amelza Dahniel who was appointed as the head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Monday (3/4/2023), is facing the charmed narrative offered by the clandestine movement of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

By playing its narrative cunningly, JI cannot be killed only with prison and bullets. Through its narrative, even though the group is often described by security officers and mass media as a terrorist movement that is terrible, JI has and will continue to be able to get sympathy from various people.

Why does this happen? Can there be a new way of dealing with this pattern of movement of JI? To answer some of these questions, the writer conducted a direct interview with Abu Rusy (62) at his home in Kudus, Central Java, in 2018. This Afghan alumnus is a senior JI figure who formulated the General Guidelines for the Struggle of Jamaah Islamiyah (PUPJI), which is the instruction for JI, in 1998.

Also read:

> Staying Alert to Terrorism

> Terror and National Security

The man, whose real name is Thoriqudin, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in 2003 for his connection to terrorism, namely hiding information on the whereabouts of Ali Ghufron, one of the main actors of the 2002 Bali bombing. Ironically, in 2021, he was arrested again because he was considered an important figure of JI over time.

Rusy, who studied communication science at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, kindly received the writer. He invited the writer to lesehan (sit cross-legged) on a well-cared for green carpet, not forgetting the neatly arranged snacks he prepared in front of us.

”Inner home” of JI

In the interview at that time, Abu Rusy explained, "Those who join JI always feel JI as their 'inner home' because in JI they find the same vision and mission of life, namely an Islamic life." The imagination of an "Islamic life" for JI does not seem to be in the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) system based on Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.

This was confirmed by Badawi Rohman, a former terrorism inmate related to the hiding of JI weapons assets. The friendly man who now sells bubur (porridge) in Semarang explained, JI dreams of the khilafat system, not the NKRI. "JI always does i'dad or preparation in welcoming the rise of the khilafat promised by the Prophet. This khilafatwill appear every 100 years. JI uses the collapse of the khilafat Usmaniah in Turkey in 1924 as the foundation of the movement to awaken JI after the 2002 Bali bombing," said Badawi.

For Badawi and not a few Muslims, especially those who read the history of collapse of the caliphate or sultanatesystem in Islam, 1924 was a very important year that marked the defeat of Muslims by the Western.

For JI, 1924 is the "parent narrative", namely a narrative that is believed to be true because there is a clear historical reference. Then, this parent narrative is interpreted as a painful historical event for Muslims, namely the dissolution of the khilafat system by the national hero of the Turkish state, Kemal Ataturk.

The dream of the rebirth of the khilafat system is still felt in Indonesia to this day. The Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting survey in 2017 found "Nearly one in ten Indonesians explicitly wants to replace the NKRI with the khilafat system".

This is not only because they consider Muslims to always be oppressed in the democratic system in the world, but also because they believe it is the will of God, as they believe in the parent texts, such as the Quran or political hadiths.

Also read:

> New Wave of Terrorism

> Fighting against Terrorism

This means the imagination of Badawi for the birth of the khilafat system in Indonesia is not without supporters. For them, the khilafat system is a plenary system that has and will bring Islam to the level of glory.

In the interview, Badawi framed the hadiths of Imam Ahmad who talked about the political life cycle of Muslims. The first is the leadership of the khilafah ’ala Minhaaj al-Nubuwwah (khilafat who follows the prophetic path).

Then this system was replaced by the mulkan adhon (wrongdoors), followed by the emergence of the mulkan jabari yah (rule of the dictator), and then returned to the khilafat system. Based on the hadiths, groups like JI believe that in 2024 this new system will rise.

However, in fact, in the realm of Javanese thinking, such ideas are also always alive, such as Ratu Adil or Imam Mahdi, and ideas about the arrival of Messiah. And in accordance with its time, the idea will emerge and sink in the era of political events such as the change of leadership.

Alternative Narratives of khilafat

It is not an exaggeration that one of the things that the new BNPT leader needs to do is encourage the emergence of alternative narratives of the khilafat.

To do this, the BNPT must cooperate again with various parties, especially former JI members who have carried out the pledge of the NKRI, religious leaders, academics and also broad civil society, such as Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah.

There is no single reference to describe what they mean by the khilafat system.

One thing that Badawi and supporters of the khilafat in Indonesia forget is that the term khilafat itself as a system is not a single and generic term.

There is no single reference to describe what they mean by the khilafat system. Frequently they refer to Khulafaur Rasyidin or the Khalifah (Caliph) that consists of four names, as the continuation of the Prophet, who is considered "Caliph who gets the correct guidance", namely Abu Bakar, Umar, Usman and Ali.

In fact, in reality, these four figures faced serious internal resistance so that three of the four were killed. In the concept of the khilafat in the next era where it was transformed into a political system, it was not uncommonly colored with intrigue and bloodshed. In fact, the system is not too different from a royal system, monarchy or ambitious Christian empire in Europe.

In fact, for several generations, there is no single khilafat system. For example, the Abbasiyah Caliphate in Baghdad, the Fatimiyah Caliphate in Cairo and the Umayya Caliphate in Cordoba, Spain.

Not to mention the emergence of the Islamic Kingdom or small sultanates, whose number is countless, which were and are beyond the direct influence of the Khilafah in the Middle East. For example, the power of Sunni Ghaznawi in South Asia, or many Islamic kingdoms in West Africa, such as in Mali, or in the Indonesian archipelago.

Also read:

> Islamophobia Vs Radicalism and Spirituality

> Dangerous Amateur Terrorists

Sometimes the position of the khilafat only functions ceremonially, such as when the Abbasiyah Caliphate was established in Mamluk, Cairo, after Baghdad was ravaged by the Mongols in 1258.

The background of the decline and chaos of the Abbasiyah Khilafah system is what drives Islamic political thinkers, Abu al-Hasan al-Mawardi (who died in 1058) wrote a classic essay on the authority of the khilafat, Al Ahkam as-Sulthaniyyah wa al-Wilayat Addiniyyah (government procedures), in the 11th century.

No need for Islamophobia

However, it must be admitted, modern civilizations that give birth to Renaissance in Europe would not have arisen without the role of Islam, especially during the Khilafah Abbasiyah.

In The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World (2017), Catherine Nixey reminded that today the world often forgets that when the Western world became Christian, it was colored by the destruction of classical culture, especially the writings of Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and others by radical Christian followers. "Only 1 percent of Latin literature survived the cleaning. Antiques, artwork, and countless ancient traditions are lost forever," said Nixey.

The narrative in the world of knowledge usually starts from the Greek tradition, then Roman, then suddenly the emergence of the Renaissance by eliminating the role of Islamic thinkers during the Khilafah Abbasiyah. However, a Fresco or wall painting by Raffaello Sanzio (1483-1520) in the private library of Pope Yulius II in the Vatican speaks differently.

The Fresco is now referred to as "The School of Athens", the school of philosophers from Athens.

What is interesting about the picture, there is a man who wears a turban and robe who is in discussion with Pythagoras. "He is a Muslim philosopher named Averroes or Ibnu Rusdi (1126-1198). He is the person who treated the 'fire of Greek knowledge "continue to light up," wrote Violet Moller in the introduction of her book,The Map of Knowledge: A Thousand Year History of How Classical Ideas Were Lost and Found (2019).

Nevertheless, the narrative of the revival of Islam with the ahistorical understanding continues to be treated by those who dream of the rise of the khilafat system in the world. The narrative of the revival of Islam is actually not original in groups like JI.

KOMPAS/DANU KUSWORO

Noor Huda Ismail

Noor Huda Ismail,Visiting Fellow, RSIS, NTU, Singapore

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.