A shocking ( perhaps) report from Indonesia’s National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT)…
.
– that there are at least 198 Islamic boarding schools suspected of being affiliated with terrorists, both local and international terrorism networks –
..has just been released by the BNPT’s Komjen, Boy Rafli Amar, but, regrettably, he chose not to name the ‘pondok pesantren‘ concerned..
However, he did give a breakdown of the sectarian vermin factions…
.
The Evil Within
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..to which they were linked. viz.
– 1 affiliated with the Jamaah Anshorut Khilafah (JAK).
– 119 with Anshorut Daulah or ISIS sympathizers
– and 68 with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
https://pedomantangerang.pikiran-rakyat.com/nasional/pr-073582171/bnpt-deteksi-ratusan-pesantren-diduga-terafiliasi-kelompok-teroris
ooo
But hardly had the BNPT revelations hit the headlines, than a notable from the state-sponsored MUI…
…the ‘Indonesian Scholars Council,’ Secretary General, Amirsyah Tambunan, ‘questioned the data.’
.
. 
Amirsyah Tambunan
..
.“On what basis is the data collection, what is the methodology, is it the result of an official study by the BNPT?”
Those are not unreasoable questions.
But then Amirsyah went on to claim that the BNPT had the potential to cause unrest for the surrounding community.
Not only that, BNPT’s exposure will actually make the community less safe and comfortable.”
What exactly does the MUI man mean?
If he were to call for each suspect ‘religious school’ to be named, so that decent parents could remove their offspring from undesirable influences, I’d agree and applaud.
But on the contrary!
Amirsyah wants the BNPT to make sure that…
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‘...this information does not appear in public!”
Then, sad to say, he played the ”Islamophobia’ card.
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He asked BNPT to explain to the public so as not to cause negative stigma, especially for Islamic boarding schools.
Let’s note at this point that this is hardly the first time..
Lukman Slams Pesantren Fanatics – Can One Brave Man Slay The Hydra?I
slamist Pesantren Leaders in Indonesia – Pluralist or Primitive?
….that these ‘religious schools’ have caused concern.
..
To be fair to Amirsyah, he also said MUI was all for ‘religious moderation according to the principles of justice and equality for the benefit of the people and the nation.’
But then?
“I invite all parties to stop the narrative of cornering certain groups with Islamophobia…”
https://www.westjavatoday.com/bnpt-sebut-198-ponpes-terafiliasi-jaringan-teroris-mui-atas-dasar-apa
Oh dear!
As a ‘scholar,’ he ought to know that, ‘Islamophobia’ is a word quite recently invented, to suppress criticism of his creed.
“There’s No Such Thing as Islamophobia. Critique of religion is a fundamental Western right, not an illness.”
Most of you would probably agree!
Any and every creed should be up for criticism.
But Amirsyah’s comments got me thinking about a previous MUI intervention.
I can’t have been the only one who recalled what they had to say when an evil bigot, behind bars for good reason…
—
…and although happily that release did not come to pass…
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… we surely need to weigh previous MUI observations on a number of past issues…
….when we muse on their latest outburst.
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https://www.westjavatoday.com/bnpt-sebut-198-ponpes-terafiliasi-jaringan-teroris-mui-atas-dasar-ap
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