The three convicted Bali Bombers were executed late last night by firing squad. Indonesian security forces await violent gatherings and events
today. The three bombers were unrepentant to the end, glorifying in their celebrity all through their trial.
One of the convicted was Imran Samudra, and his jailhouse autobiography,
Saya Melawan Teroris" (Me Against Terrorists) had sold over 10,000 copies over three print runs. (Plans to translate the book into other languages, including English, have been on hold since late 2005. The Indonesian Government has said it would be reviewing the book to evaluate banning its continued publication).
Counter-Radical publications have been less popular in terms of sales, though this may be more about notoriety than agreement.
This goes to the heart of the problem regarding de-radicalization programs and movements. In many ways, they require what could be euphemistically termed
"Passionate Moderation", and that is an incredibly difficult emotion to stir.
There are, of course, the structural obstacles first. See this still-relevant
report by the International Crisis Group on de-radicalisation programs in Indonesia. The ICG notes that the success of the programs are undermined by the problems within the prison system. Many critics have suggested that the Indonesian Government's failure to close off the Bali Bombers from the media heightened their celebrity and continued to fan the flames of the radical movement. On this score, the government cannot win, as if they had closed the prisoners off, they would have likely been subject to criticisms from simple mistreatment to torture.
But even if prison reform magically occurs, the energy needed to keep these programs going, and to make them relevant to the ones that need to be reached, will remain difficult. Simply put,
MODERATION IS BORING. Regardless of how one ties recruitment into ANY group/movement to the need for young (men, especially) to find excitement, note that NONE of the "recruiting" movements stress even-handedness and balance.
So, how to counter the militant, the true believer? Arguably with someone who's been there, as the Indonesia program attempts to do. The experiences of those like
Ed Husain are also interesting. (Husain's book is a wonderful read. It is available via Amazon.co.uk, but not in the US directly. Carlos bought it when the dollar was much stronger, interested readers in the US now have to deal with a tougher exchange rate).
Alternatively, there are those who have the same experience but not the same result. In this light, Carlos recommends the blog by
Noor Huda Ismail. Ismail was for six years a student at the
Al Mukmin Ngruki, the boarding school founded by Abu Bakkar Baasyir (spiritual leader of
Jemaah Islamiyah. Ismail is a contemporary to the Bali Bombers and many of their supporters.
Passionate Moderation is so hard to come by. On one level it may manifest in perceived hypocrisy. Carlos remembers fondly his time in Kosovo, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes (though Carlos does not partake of the tobacco)with large groups of Albanian Muslims. One of them referred to Kosovo as home to "Rock and Roll Muslims," and that is either the hope or the danger of such presentation. R'n'R Muslims certainly don't play in Southeast Asia. Well, if they do, they aren't as blatant:
(Carlos remembers being in grocery stores in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one of his favorite cities. Next to the beer and wine, there are frequently prominent signs in Malay, English, and sometimes Arabic. The signs state "Muslims Cannot Buy Alcohol." Carlos wonders which Muslim needed to be told that).
But that is of course the symptom of the problem. "Integrated" believers either allow for others to "sin," or (more problematically for the believer) allow for a certain amount of secular hypocrisy. It's not hard to see why the militant voice has such play in comparison to that. Carlos cheers for the Rock and Roll Muslims (and Christians, and Buddhists, etc,) but he recognizes the problem with such "movements" toward secularization and moderation. They in fact increase the threat to those who feel both disenfranchised from the "society to come" and view the "society that was" (even if only in mind) being erased and degraded.
