By : Farrel Haroon West Java )*
The government succeeded in disbanding the radical group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which then returned to the fold of the Republic of Indonesia. This step of course needs to receive widespread appreciation from all Indonesian people as proof of the success of the deradicalization program. Of course, being able to successfully change the direction of a radical group is not something that is easy and does not just happen, but requires effort, hard work, strategy and the right approach that is relevant to them.
The reason is, if the government does not implement the right approach, of course these radical groups will find it very difficult to accept that all elements of the nation must continue to uphold the Republic of Indonesia and national ideology.
By declaring their self-dissolution from JI, and not half-heartedly, they also pledged to swear allegiance to the Republic of Indonesia, so of course this cannot be separated from the government’s very precise efforts and approach so far in carrying out its de-radicalization mission to radical groups in Homeland.
Special Staff to the Minister of Religion (Stafsus Menag) for Radicalism and Intolerance, Nuruzzaman, gave very high appreciation to the efforts of the government and the security forces of the Special Detachment (Densus) 88 Anti-Terror of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) for the dissolution of JI.
JI’s dissolution and pledge of allegiance to the Republic of Indonesia are the impact of the National Police’s Densus 88 Anti-Terror approach so far, especially as the government uses a soft approach with no coercion or threat of weapons at all. So in deradicalization steps, the Indonesian government is trying to change the awareness of these radical groups that what they have been doing so far is wrong but without any coercion.
For information, JI announced the dissolution of its organization on June 30 2024 and committed to returning to the fold of the Republic of Indonesia. The announcement of the self-dissolution also included statements from senior members of the board as well as leaders of Islamic boarding schools (ponpes) and institutions affiliated with JI.
Not only to the government and the ranks of the security forces, but the firm statement of attitude and strong commitment of JI officials deserves high appreciation. The reason is, they are willing and ready to return to the fold of the Republic of Indonesia so that they have a position that is not floating like other radical organizations, namely Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI).
In fact, all Islamic boarding schools and educational institutions that have been affiliated with JI have expressed their readiness to use the state curriculum. Even so, the mentoring process must continue so that this deradicalization process can continue not only from JI officials, but down to their grass roots.
They also emphasized that they were ready to follow all applicable legal regulations as stated in Indonesian law. It’s not quite there, but JI officials admit that they are ready to take an active role in fulfilling the independence of the Republic of Indonesia so that it can become a developed and dignified country.
Likewise, the Executive Director of the Indonesian Moderate Network (JMI), Islah Bahrawi, also gave very high appreciation to the security forces from Densus 88 AT Polri for the various efforts that have been taking place so far, including action and deradicalization education.
The dissolution of this radical organization is actually a new history in Indonesia. In fact, not only for this nation, but also in Southeast Asia. Because so far no party or country has been able to ask a group of people or organizations that are very radical and have committed acts of terrorism to open their cognitive awareness, thereby causing them to disband themselves.
Even though they have disbanded, the government and all levels of security forces, including the public, must continue to increase their self-vigilance and not be careless, because it could be just hibernation, but the roots of the radical ideology are still there.
Meanwhile, Researcher and Writer on Radicalism-Terrorism Issues, Khoirul Anam also gave very high appreciation and appreciation because the government, through the security forces of Densus 88 AT Polri, had succeeded in making history by deradicalizing JI.
So far, the government has continued to fight very persistently for de-radicalization so that slowly, JI officials finally came to their senses and they were able to return to embracing Pancasila as their ideology.
Very high appreciation continues to flow from various parties for the very appropriate efforts and approaches from the government and the security forces of Densus 88 AT Polri to carry out de-radicalization efforts for JI so that now they have officially disbanded and returned to the fold of the Republic of Indonesia.
)* The author is Ruang Baca Nusantara
