The Deadly Narrative Behind Terrorism Funding

Funding is the lifeblood of acts of terrorism, apart from ideology. Advances in technology have made it easier for terror groups to raise funds, either through the donation approach to donating or breaking into Paypal user accounts.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

HIDAYAT SALAM

Noor Huda Ismail, author of the book The Narrative of Killing Terror Funding in Indonesia, took a selfie with Munir Kartono, Chair of the Civil Islamic Studies Program at Paramadina University M Subhi Ibrahim, and lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Indonesia Mirra Noor Milla after the screening of the documentary film From Disappointment in Your Father Becoming an ISIS Funder and the launch of the book Narrative of Deadly Terrorism Funding in Indonesia by Noor Huda Ismail at Paramadina University, Jakarta, Thursday (27/7/2023)

In addition to ideology, the funding factor is the lifeblood of acts of terrorism. Recently, terrorist groups have increasingly transformed in seeking funding starting from formal channels such as establishing non-governmental organizations, foundations, educational institutions and using technological advances.

Indonesian society, known for their generosity and big-heartedness, has become susceptible to exploitation by terrorist networks. This is done by spreading narratives to donate.

Terrorism funding is highly risky, long-term, latent and decisive for the occurrence of terrorist acts. The suicide bombing at the Surakarta District Police Headquarters in Central Java on Tuesday (5/7/2016) is an example of several acts of terror resulting from funding processes with truly deadly narratives.

This problem was recorded in showing the documentary From Disappointed to Father Becoming ISIS Funder and book launch Narrative of Turning Off Terrorism Funding in Indonesia by Noor Huda Ismail at Paramadina University, Jakarta, Thursday (27/7 /2023).

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HIDAYAT SALAM

The participants witnessed the screening of the documentary film From Disappointment to the Father of Becoming an ISIS Funder and the launch of the book Deadening the Financing of Terror in Indonesia by Noor Huda Ismail at Paramadina University, Jakarta, Thursday (27/ 7/2023)

The film tells the story of Munir Kartono, a former terrorism convict who was caught on charges of financing terrorism in Indonesia. Munir acts as a fund seeker through the internet by skimming or breaking into customer account data. At the screening of the film, Munir was also present with Noor Huda.

In the film, it is retold that when Munir graduated from high school in 2000 and failed to pass the entrance exam for a state university, he decided to enroll in a graphic design course in Bogor, West Java. The course was owned by an activist from Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), which slowly drew him into HTI's political agenda.

The narrative of resistance against the democratic system advocated by HTI led Munir to meet and become close friends with Bahrun Naim, a figure of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Resistance narrative

Before being influenced by the HTI narrative, the monetary crisis in 1997 also resulted in problems for Munir's family. Economic problems forced his mother to work as a factory worker. With this condition, Munir blamed his father who was considered irresponsible. Problems in his family caused Munir to increasingly blame the government and express hostility towards the government.

The narrative of resistance to the democratic system echoed by HTI made Munir acquainted and became close friends with Bahrun Naim, a prominent figure for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Southeast Asia. The narrative of the struggle that raising funds through the internet is a form of jihad riveted Munir. Both of them carried out fundraising actions on the internet during 2010-2015.

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KOMPAS/HARIS FIRDAUS

Noor Huda Ismail, Executive Director of the Peace Prasasti Foundation.

Then, it was Munir who sought funds for the suicide bombing attack at the Surakarta City Police Headquarters in early July 2016. One police officer, Brigadier Chief Bambang Adi Cahyanto, who was still on duty as a member of the Provos at the Surakarta City Police Headquarters, became a victim of the attack.

"The terrorist groups seeking funding for their actions have apparently transformed. Not only do they rob, but they also obtain funding through formal channels such as establishing CSOs (civil society organizations), foundations, educational institutions, and using new technologies such as crypto-assets," said Noor Huda, Executive Director of the Prasasti Perdamaian Foundation."

Noor Huda said that there are factors causing the financing of terrorism to become more complex. This was influenced by several things, including the increase in the use of internet technology for fundraising (online fundraising), and the dissemination of narratives that encourage people to give donations which are then used to fund terrorist activities. The narrative of giving is quite powerful considering that the Indonesian people are known as a generous community.

"We pay attention to the narrative issues developed by terrorist network groups to support terrorism funding," he said.

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NINO CITRA ANUGRAHANTO

Munir Kartono (right) hugged the victim of the police station bombing in Surakarta in 2016, Police Officer Bambang Adi Cahyanto, at City Hall Surakarta, Central Java, on Thursday (11/4/2021).

Noor Huda also gave an example of other terrorism fund seekers such as Hendro Fernando, a former terrorism convict. Hendro channeled funds from ISIS in Syria to the East Indonesian Mujahidin led by Santoso in the Poso area of ​​operations, Central Sulawesi.

It is known that Hendro wanted to be part of the Islamic struggle through the ISIS network in Indonesia. The group's political narrative of resistance to the Indonesian political system developed moved Hendro's heart.

"These two people (Munir and Hendro), I call credible voices or people who verify funding, are the lifeblood of acts of terrorism, apart from ideology. (Story of experience) Former perpetrators or their families are important in preventing efforts so that no one is involved in terrorism financing anymore," said Noor Huda.

I refer to these two people (Munir and Hendro) as credible voices or people who verify funding as the lifeblood of acts of terrorism, apart from ideology. (Noor Huda)

Munir admitted that he had never known the funding sources and their usage that had been collected. The suicide bombing at the Surakarta City Police Station made Munir realize and regret his involvement in the terrorist act. "I want to be a role model for my children," he said.

Not a few people who are involved in criminal acts of terrorism, especially for funding, are educated and technologically savvy. Especially with the advancement of the internet, continued Munir, many things can be monetized, one of which is games or online gambling. “I do it with the internet like breaking into a customer's PayPal account. I took it not much, only five dollars per account,” said Munir.

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POLRES METRO JAKARTA BARAT

Screenshots of hate speech content and terror narratives uploaded by IR via his Facebook account.

Community readiness

The chairman of the Madani Islamic Studies program at Paramadina University, M Subhi Ibrahim, said that acts of terrorism require a narrative for legitimacy and justification for such actions. Therefore, the narrative developed by terrorist groups aims to serve as a justification for their actions. "There needs to be structured and effective mitigation measures involving all stakeholders and communities to counter the narrative of terrorism and terrorism financing in Indonesia," he said.

In line with Subhi, Noor Huda hopes that there will be community readiness in dealing with the phenomena of terrorism. He also pushed for the decentralization of the handling of terrorism prevention. The handling of the issue of terrorism is still stuck in Jakarta centric. "Knowledge at the central and regional levels is very uneven. In fact, many cases of terrorism appear in these areas," he said.