Indonesian Muslim Groups to Aid Terror Agency on Education
Indonesia’s anti-terrorism agency signed a memorandum of understanding with eight Muslim organizations to study programs that could help prevent attacks fueled by religious extremism.
Among the groups to sign the agreement was Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s biggest Muslim group. The memorandum calls for discussions about religious radicalism without providing details on what the future programs might involve.
“Working with Muslim leaders is our priority after so many people have said they are fighting in the name of Islam,” National Anti-Terror Agency Chief Ansyaad Mbai told reporters today in Jakarta after the signing. “This is our long-term project.”
Indonesia, a secular state with the world’s biggest population of Muslims, is taking steps to address religious extremism as part of a broader crackdown on terrorism. Security forces have stepped up raids since 2009 bombings at Jakarta’s JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels killed nine people, including the two attackers.
Today’s agreement took place on a day when terrorism suspect Umar Patek returned to Indonesia under police custody from Pakistan, according to Indonesian National Police Chief Timur Pradopo. Patek, who is accused of helping carry out the 2002 Bali bomb attacks that killed 202 people, was arrested in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad along with his wife on March 31, Sutanto, head of the Indonesia Intelligence Agency, told reporters in Jakarta on March 31.
The U.S. had offered a reward of $1 million for Patek’s capture, according to the website Rewards for Justice, run by the State Department. Patek is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the U.S., according to the website.
To contact the reporters on this story: Femi Adi in Jakarta at fadi1@bloomberg.net; Agus Suhana in Jakarta at asuhana1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at phirschberg@bloomberg.net
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