Indonesia

Indonesia preparing amendment to terrorism laws: Ansyaad Mbai

Khabar Southeast Asia

Indonesia preparing amendment to terrorism laws: Ansyaad Mbai

In the second part of an exclusive interview, Indonesia’s counterterrorism chief describes ways about how Indonesian law and prison facilities make his job tougher.

A great weakness of the Indonesian legal system is that it does not authorise action against the “spiritual mentors” of militants, Ansyaad Mbai, head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), told Khabar Southeast Asia in an exclusive interview last week.

To address that weakness, the government is preparing an amendment to the 2003 anti-terrorism law, Ansyaad said in a wide-ranging discussion on security issues in which he described ongoing obstacles to fighting terrorism, as well as concrete actions his agency is taking.

The legal protection of hate speech, poor prison facilities and a too-soft approach to terrorism convicts are among the obstacles outlined by the counterterrorism chief.

Rooting out radical ideology will be a long-term effort requiring broad support from civil society and moderate clergy, he said. Many former militants are co-operating with the effort, what he called one of the most effective methods of stemming radicalisation.

Free speech, or hate speech?

The recent arrests of some more than ten terror suspects in Solo suggest that the city remains a focus of illegal activity, despite concerted efforts to stomp out terrorism.

Terrorism persists in the central Javanese city because there are so many ideological figures or “spiritual mentors” who still actively preach radical messages there, Ansyaad said.

“Unfortunately, the Indonesian legal system has not yet categorised those activities as criminal actions. It’s what I consider a great weakness of our legal system” he told Khabar.

“Actually many religious leaders have urged us to take serious actions against the figures who are actively spreading hatred and enmity in the name of religion. But we do not have the authority to do so,” he explained.

“Those hate-filled speeches are still categorised as freedom of speech.” Ansyaad added that Indonesia is currently finalising a draft amendment of 2003 Anti-terrorism law that would add hate speech activity as a criminal action. “By adding the hate speech as criminal activity, we can be more proactive in countering terrorism. It is because that (hate speech) is actually the first step of the radicalism process and terrorism,” he said.

Radicalised in prison

Indonesian law also mandates a “soft approach” in handling terror detainees, he said. For example, infamous firebrand cleric and convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir has never been compelled to wear a prison uniform, and is able to continue preaching from prison.

“So we have not only a soft approach, but a too-soft approach,” he said. Ansyaad admitted that Indonesia faces a challenge in curbing the spread of militant ideology in its overburdened prisons.

In March, counterterrorism forces shot dead five suspects believed to have been planning a series of attacks in Bali, which this week marks the tenth anniversary of the worst-ever terrorism attacks on Indonesian soil, the 2002 bombings in Kuta.

Three of the five suspects were former drug dealers who were radicalised by Bali bombers Imam Samudra and Amrozi in Kerobokan prison.

“It is indeed one of our biggest obstacles, minimal facilities that become overloaded. It’s a dilemma,” he said. “If we place all the terrorists in one block, then they will reunite. But if the terrorists are placed with non-terrorists, the non-terrorist can become a terrorist.”

Even if Indonesia were to isolate terrorists in a single facility, it would still be necessary to separate the high-risk prisoners from the low-risk ones, he said.

“So prisons keep trying to improve, but with limited facilities,” he said.

Reaching the ‘brother community’

The national deradicalisation programme Indonesia is currently developing has two main targets: terrorists in prison or police custody, and the broader “brother community” that provides support for terrorists.

“The first objective has been achieved in many countries. But the second objective, targeting the brother community, is a big job and require a long-term strategy,” he said. “We need the involvement of moderate religious leaders and also non-governmental organisations.”

A main goal of the effort is to neutralise radical messages about the meaning of jihad and the treatment of non-believers, for example. A key strategy will be to use former militants to denounce terrorism.

“Experience has shown, the best way to catch a thief is by using a thief. The fact that terrorists complain about this tactic shows that it is effective,” he said.

More than 50 former Indonesian militants who trained in Afghanistan have agreed to co-operate in a BNPT deradicalisation programme, visiting 14 prisons in ten big cities throughout the country “to convince others that what they were doing was wrong,” he said.

“We need more and more like them,” he said. “The more ex-terrorists who oppose terrorism, the better. And certainly that will make terrorists complain,” he said.

For the first part of the interview with Ansyaad, click here.

Bomb-makers getting more sophisticated: Ansyaad Mbai

Khabar Southeast Asia

Bomb-makers getting more sophisticated: Ansyaad Mbai

Terrorism remains a real threat in Indonesia, and the target has shifted to the “near enemy”, Indonesian police chief of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), Ansyaad Mbai told Khabar Southeast Asia in an exclusive interview last week. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]

The latest terrorism-related arrests net some long-time militants with a grim new group name and deadlier bombs

Terrorism remains a real threat in Indonesia, and militants are becoming more sophisticated at bomb-making, Ansyaad Mbai, head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), told Khabar Southeast Asia in an exclusive interview Thursday (October 4th).

“With this latest case, the terrorism threat is still real,” Ansyaad said, referring to a string of arrests in September of suspects who claim they belong to Al-Qaeda Indonesia.

No evidence has been found of links to international terrorists. “We have found no evidence of that. But they did indeed plan to form a network called Al-Qaeda Indonesia,” he said.

Suspects picked up in a series of incidents in late September in Solo, Central Java and Depok, West Java appear to have been more creative and sophisticated than other terror groups in assembling bombs, employing, among other items, plastic food containers and rice cookers.

Police seized liquid nitroglycerin bombs packed in plastic bags, four pipe bombs, two bottle bombs, 4kg of sulphur, 5kg of gunpowder and several mobile phones.

“They have become more sophisticated. It can be seen from the latest evidence which was found: they have prepared the liquid bomb. In fact, our explosive experts considered that the bomb has higher capacity than the previous homemade bomb.” Ansyaad said.

Old group, new name

In a series of raids starting on September 22nd, police detained nine terrorist suspects: Badri Hartono, Rudi Kurnia Putra, Khumaidi, Fajar Novianto, Barkah Nawah Saputra, Triyatno, Arif Pamungkas, Joko Priyanto alias Joko Jihad, and Wendy Febriangga alias Hasan.

Other suspects are still being sought by police, he said, stressing, however, that they do not represent a new group.

Some of the detainees are former members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), a hardline Islamic group once led by cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.

“So it’s not new at all. There are even some who have served prison time,” he said.

“Since the 2002 Bali bombings, Jemaah Islamiyah has been broken down into numbers of small groups or cells, but the cells are still in touch with one another. Later, when the name changed to Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, their leader is still Abu Bakar Bashir,” he explained.

“Therefore it needs to be understood that even though they have been changing their name many times, these actually are not new groups. Each group still has the old figures and recruits new members.”

“At a certain level, these groups can reunite to carry out another action. Like now, we can see each group has its plan and carries it out in several different places… So you can’t say it’s new or, as some say, fourth generation. It’s not relevant to classify it in that way,” he said.

New targets

Their goals remain the same, but their targets have shifted over the past decade.

“Before the emphasis was the West, the ‘far enemy.’ Now it’s more the ‘near enemy’. Why? Because they have experienced — over these more than ten years — that in fact what most obstructs their movement is the ‘near enemy’, and the enemy that is nearest to them is the police,” he said.

Their goal, he added, is to establish an Islamic state based on their version of Sharia Islam.

“Careful when you write Sharia Islam…it’s ‘their version of Sharia Islam’,” he said.

Authorities have found no evidence of foreign money flowing to radicals in Indonesia. But 2012 saw evidence of multiple approaches employed to raise money at home.

“It appears that their pattern now is to focus domestically, stealing over the Internet, or using the conventional way, which is by robbing banks or gold shops or whatever they can,” he said.

In May, authorities arrested alleged hackers Rizki Gunawan in Jakarta and Cahya Fitriyanta in Bandung, who managed to break into a multi-level marketing website and obtain almost 5,937 billion rupiah ($617,150) – money used, according to police, to fund terror activities including militant training in Poso and the bombing of a church in Solo last year.

On Monday (October 8th), Cahya Fitriyanta’s trial began in West Jakarta District Court. He faces multiple charges including hacking, money laundering and supporting terrorism.

Depok bomb blast aborts sinister plans

Khabar Southeast Asia

Depok bomb blast aborts sinister plans

Residents of Depok, West Java watch on Sunday (September 9th) as police investigate the scene of a bomb blast the night before. The explosion injured at least six people, including a man suspected of making the bomb. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]

The men exposed by an accidental bomb blast in Depok, West Java were planning acts of terrorism, police say.

One surrendered at a police station, wearing a suicide belt and pining for his family. Another lies in a police hospital, unrecognisable, burns covering 70% of his body.

Just prior to an explosion at 9:30 pm Saturday (September 8th), the two men met at a house in Beji, Depok that advertised itself as an orphanage but turned out to be a bomb factory.

The blast at the so-called Pondok Bidara Orphanage Foundation injured at least six people, most of them neighbours who lived just behind the bomb site.

The victims are Nanut Triaman (62), Bagus Kuncoro (20), Taufik (32), Wulandari (27), Fajruddin (27), and a man originally identified only as Mr X because the severity of his injuries made immediate identification impossible.

Suspected of being a bomb maker, Mr X was brought to the Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta for intensive treatment, according to Boy Rafli Amar, the spokesman for the Indonesian National Police.

“His right hand was damaged badly. His neck was hit by some kind of hard object, and his face has been badly burned,” he told reporters Sunday (September 9th) in Jakarta.

After the explosion, neighbours saw two men escape by motorcycle. “We’re monitoring hospitals and clinics because one of them is believed to have suffered burns,” Boy said. “We strongly believe that the suspects were involved in assembling the bomb.”

Police did not have to wait long to nab one of the fugitives. At around 5:30 on Sunday (September 9th), 32-year-old Muhammad Toriq – also spelled Toriq in some reports — turned himself in at Tambora police office in West Jakarta.

An explosives belt was strapped to his body, which he handed to police, along with a gun and ammunition, Jakarta police spokesman Col. Rikwanto said.

“He turned himself in because he missed his family,” Rikwanto said, according to The Jakarta Globe.

Planned suicide attack

Prior to his surrender, Thorik had considered blowing himself up at a police office or a Buddhist centre, Boy later told reporters in an update on the unfolding events.

According to Boy, the suspect planned to detonate a suicide bomb at one of four potential targets: Depok Mobil Brigade (Brimob) headquarters, the National Police Detachment 88 office in Jakarta, a police building in Salemba, Central Jakarta, or a Buddhist centre. The planned attack was a deluded attempt at revenge for the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

Thorik had escaped from the police twice before he surrendered. He first escaped on September 5th after a neighbour reported smoke coming from his house in Tambora, West Jakarta.

The smoke turned out to be a cloud of explosive material that had accidently spilled. When police arrived at the house, Thorik was gone, but they took his mother Iyot, 71, his wife Sri Haryani, and his three-year-old son Mohammad Gabriel to the police station.

Thorik was at the “orphanage” in Depok when the bomb exploded but fled before police arrived.

Earlier, police thought that the critically injured man was Thoriq. But his identity has since been confirmed as Anwar, a relative of suspected militant Arif Hidayat who was arrested Monday (September 10th) in Bojonggede, Bogor, West Java, according to media reports.

A deadly “orphanage”

Based on the severity of his injuries, police think Anwar was making the bomb, perhaps even holding it, when the explosion occurred.

From the scene, police also seized three grenades, six pipes filled with explosive material, one Beretta pistol, homemade guns, small-arms ammunition, 7kg of potassium chlorate, nails, five 9-volt batteries, detonators, cables, and electronic switches.

Police also found some books related to terrorism and a goodbye letter at the scene.

A banner with the words Pondok Bidara Orphanage Foundation hung from the front of the building. Another sign indicated the place was an alternative “cupping therapy” clinic. However, local residents never saw any patients or orphans.

According to Joko, 60, a neighbourhood drinks seller, the person who rented the room had been living there since last month.

“I have never seen any activities because the gate was always locked. I tried to see the person to ask for the monthly rent, but I could not enter,” said Nurhassanah, 37, a community leader whose husband heads the neighbourhood watch (Rukun Tetangga/RT).

Boy said police had been monitoring activity at the house. It is not new for terrorists to use a business front to mask criminal activities, he said.

“Legitimate business activities have been used by terror suspects in many cases. In Wonosobo, for instance, they used their place to sell clothes,” he explained.

Boy said that people need to be aware of newcomers in their neighbourhoods because many terror suspects associate with the community and carry out normal activities.

“It is very important for the community chief to ask for and collect a copy of the identity card from new residents in their community,” he said.

New generation of terrorists shadowing Indonesia

Khabar Southeast Asia

New generation of terrorists shadowing Indonesia

Boy Rafli Amar, National Police spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday that the youthful terror suspects in Solo had links to older extremist organisations. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar].

The young men who carried out the Idul Fitri attacks in Solo belonged to a new terror network with links to established groups, police say.

A new breed of radical extremists is posing a security threat to Indonesia, officials and analysts say, citing a recent series of attacks in Solo as an example.

Two young men, Farhan Mujahidin (19) and Mukhsin Sanny Permady (20), were shot dead by counterterrorism police during an August 31st raid, after allegedly staging assaults on police posts. A third suspect, Bayu Setiono, is under arrest.

According to Brigadier General Boy Rafli Amar, spokesman for the National Police, the men appear to belong to a newly-formed extremist group – but one which is affiliated with long-standing terror networks, and with the hardline Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) organisation.

Farhan, for instance, was the stepson of convicted terrorist Abu Umar, currently in prison for smuggling firearms from the Philippines to Indonesia, and for organising a paramilitary training camp in 2008.

In 2010, police say, Farhan resided in the Philippines, where his stepfather obtained support for launching a terrorist attack, including plans to attack the Singaporean Embassy in Jakarta.

Bayu also had a connection with the Philippines, according to police. They say he was involved in smuggling firearms and had joined the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

Weapons seized during the August 31st raid included an Italian-made Beretta pistol stamped “PNP [Philippine National Police] property”. According to Boy, the suspects underwent physical training at Mount Merbabu in Boyolali district, and may have earlier received training in combat strategy at other camps in Aceh or Mindanao.

He said they targeted Solo, also known as Surakarta, because they were familiar with the location. But the city was just the starting point for a broader campaign of terror attacks.

“As they used to study at the Al-Mukmin Ngruki Islamic boarding school, they are familiar with the location and have contacts there where they can hide. Therefore, they could remove any trace of their presence more easily,” Boy said.

Andi Widjajanto, a security analyst from the University of Indonesia, told Khabar Southeast Asia on Wednesday (September 5) that terrorists have been targeting police and the Indonesian government ever since the execution of three Bali bombers in November 2008.

Amrozi, Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudra were found guilty and sentenced to death for their role in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people. Speaking by phone to Khabar, acting JAT leader Mochammad Achwan denied that the terror suspects were members of his organisation.

“I have asked JAT members whether they knew the two suspects or not, but they said that they did not know them,” he said.”I am very upset that officials always link terror suspects with our organisation”.

JAT was founded by the firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, convicted in June 2011 and sentenced to 15 years in jail for helping to organise a jihadi training camp in Aceh. He is viewed as the chief ideologist and spiritual mentor of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), implicated in the Bali bombings.

On Friday, Indonesian counterterrorism chief Ansyaad Mbai said that JAT was linked to the Solo attacks as well as a planned assault on the Indonesian Parliament in Jakarta.

“There are several small groups (whose) underground works are not related to each other, but they all came from the JI and the JAT,” he told the AFP news agency, citing information revealed by Bayu during interrogation

Small change is good business ahead of Lebaran

Khabar Southeast Asia

Small change is good business ahead of Lebaran

Rukmiyati, 34, and her customers do a money transaction on Jalan Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta on August 14th. Despite the fee charged, many Indonesians visit street peddlers to exchange their large bank notes for small ones for gift giving on Idul Fitri.[Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]

Small gifts of money make Idul Fitri sweet for youngsters. Many Jakarta residents get their small change for a small fee on the street, though some frown on such businesses.

As the Chinese do on Chinese New Year, it is common among Indonesian Muslims for older relatives to give small sums of money to younger relatives after the children wish them a happy holiday on Idul Fitri

That tradition has created a business opportunity for people such as Iphan, 32, and Rukmiyati, 34, who on a recent day were selling small change – exchanging large denomination notes for small ones, for a small fee – to customers on Jalan Gajah Mada in Central Jakarta.

“I’m actually new in this business. I just started three weeks ago. In one day, I can make 300,000 rupiah ($32) in profit,” Iphan, who is originally from Medan, North Sumatra, told Khabar Southeast Asia.

“But it depends on how many customers I get per day. Basically, I can make 5 to 15 % profit from each transaction,” he added.

Iphan explains that every day he receives as much as 10 million rupiah ($1,053) from an agent, who takes a cut of his earnings.

First, he needs to go to the bank to exchange the big notes for small ones: 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 rupiah notes (10 cents, 50 cents and $1.05).

Because of the high demand at this time of year, Bank Indonesia, in collaboration with nine other banks, opened a mobile small-change service out of a vehicle at the National Monument (Monas) in Central Jakarta, which operated from July 23rd to August 16th.

“Every day, I need to wait in line at the small-change service in the National Monument (Monas) Park, Central Jakarta. But unfortunately, we are only allowed to change up to 5 million rupiah ($527),” Iphan said.

“So that is why I also change the money with an agent,” he continued.

Even though banks make change for free, many Indonesians patronise street vendors for their small cash needs because of the convenience.

Rukmiyati, who has been working in the business for the last four years, told Khabar that she would make less profit if she changed the money with an agent.

She said she prefers to queue at the bank to get small change, even if she has to do it twice in a single day, because the agent will take an additional cut of her profit, shaving a 15% margin to 5%.

“That is why it is better to change it in the bank,” she said.

There is another reason to rely on banks, authorities say: they can vouch that the currency is real.

Questioned about the source of her capital, Rukmiyati said she did not know where the agent got the money. She believes it came from a bank.

Difi Johansyah, a spokesman for Bank Indonesia, told Khabar that informal small-change services are not banned because there are no regulations against them.

“We are aware that there are informal money changers in public places such as traditional market or side streets. Bank Indonesia will not prohibit them from doing business. However, we suggest the citizens not change the money with an informal money changer service because the authenticity is not guaranteed,” he explained.

Many Muslim religious leaders from the Indonesia Council of Ulema (MUI) consider money changing in the street “haram”. Such transactions are forbidden in Islam because of the fees charged. But MUI has not issued any fatwa banning the practice among the Muslim community.

Iphan, who worked as a laborer for 10 years in Jakarta before losing his job six months ago, told Khabar that he sells small denomination banknotes to support his family.

“If MUI said it is haram, then that is not really my problem. I have to provide food for my family. It is very difficult to find a proper job these days, and I heard about this seasonal business so I decided to join with my friend,” he said.

Many small-change vendors in Jalan Gajah Mada wear face masks, in part because they feel a little shame, Rukmiyati said.

However, “The main reason is to avoid breathing the bad pollution as big bus and trucks are passing by this road,” she said.

Islamist vigilantes lead teens into trouble

Khabar Southeast Asia

Islamist vigilantes lead teens into trouble

A July 29th police notice posted on the door of Café de’Most bans it from operating based on local laws governing entertainment venues during Ramadan. [Elisabeth Oktofani/Khabar]

A hardline group that raided a bar in late July recruited local teens for the illegal attack. Two of them now face prison time.

Jakarta residents are applauding police for arresting members of a hardline group that raided a bar for serving alcohol during Ramadan, and enlisted teenagers for the illegal vigilante attack.

About 150 members of the Prophet’s Defender Council (Majelis Pembela Rasulullah, or MPR) swarmed into Cafe’ de’Most in South Jakarta late on July 28th and ransacked it, shattering windows, breaking bottles, and assaulting employees.

Police apprehended the group as they left the club on motorbikes, and seized a machete, a sickle, four samurai swords, a golf club and four wooden poles, as well as musical instruments stolen from the bar.

“We arrested 62 people. But we released 39 juveniles without charges because they were not directly involved in attacking the bar,” South Jakarta police chief, Senior Commander Imam Sugianto, told Khabar Southeast Asia.

Among the 23 not released were two juveniles who were carrying a sickle and a machete, Imam said.

“They could face up to six years in prison under the Emergency Law No 12, 1951 for carrying weapons, and two and half years for destroying private property,” he said. Also arrested was MPR’s 29-year-old leader, Habib Bahar bin Smith, who organised the attack and was able to influence minors to take part in it, according to Imam.

Bahar and another adult identified only as S.Y. have been charged with the same offenses as the teenagers but face up to 12 years in jail terms because they are adults.

The remaining suspects were charged with aggravated assault on several bar employees and could face up to five and a half years in prison.

Mia Trisnawati, a waitress at a bar in South Jakarta, was happy to hear it.

“I have always been afraid to work during the fasting month because a number of hardline groups have threatened bars and night clubs,” Mia told Khabar.

“But I think that the police have done something different to protect their citizens by arresting the hardline group that acted as if they were the police with their raid,” Mia said

Vigilante organisations, notably the Islamic Defenders’ Front (FPI), say they are acting to protect Islam, but critics say their tactics are violent, illegal and also redundant, as authorities have already moved to limit the activities and operational hours of nightclubs and other entertainment venues during Ramadan.

In fact, police shut down Café de’ Most on July 29th because it was selling alcohol during Ramadan in violation of local regulations.

The involvement of minors in the raid is a cause for special concern. Arist Merdeka Sirait, Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection, said parents and officials must declare a campaign against violence in society and make efforts to deter teenager involvement.

“Basically, teenagers tend to copy their idol’s behaviour. Therefore, it is very important for us, parents, teachers, government and religious leaders, to show how to live in peace and omit violence from daily life,” he told Khabar.

 

Jazz stars bring their talents to Jakarta mosque

Khabar Southeast Asia

Jazz stars bring their talents to Jakarta mosque

Producers of the Ramadan Jazz Festival say music can be a form of preaching, reaching out to young people, and showing them that mosques can be cool.

For two nights in late July, the Cut Meutia Mosque compound in Jakarta rang with swinging sounds as Indonesian jazz musicians and groups entertained thousands at the second annual Ramadan Jazz Festival.

“We want to send a message to Muslim youth that the mosque is actually a cool place for Muslim youth to hang out,” said Agus Setiawan of Jakarta-based jazz promoters Warta Jazz, which produced the festival together with the Cut Meutia Mosque Islamic Youth Association (RICMA).

“The mosque is actually not only a worship place. It is also a place to socialise,” Agus added.

Jazz is very popular among young Muslims in Jakarta, he said.

“The Q’uran verse says, ‘Preach with your own people’s language.’ Hence, we use jazz music as a medium to preach and approach young people, so there would be more Indonesian youth coming to the mosque more often,” he said.

Gilang Widodo is a 22-year-old who came to pray and lingered for jazz.

“I am not a big fan of jazz music. But I found this jazz festival to be unique because we could enjoy jazz music in a mosque after Taraweeh prayers, which is very unusual,” he said, referring to a special prayer said during Ramadan. “I decided to stay here to watch it.”

A focus on tolerance

This year’s festival featured 16 prominent Indonesian jazz musicians. They included Dwiki Dharmawan, Idang Rasjidi, Payung Teduh, Tompi, Endah N. Rhesa, Ari Pramudito, Barry Likumahuwa and also Jilly Likumahuwa.

Coming from different backgrounds, they brought diversity and high-calibre talent to an event where the emphasis was on religious as well as musical harmony.

“Through the Ramadan Jazz Festival, we want to share the spirit of togetherness without being concerned about our differences,” said Agus, the Warta Jazz representative.

“We want to show that Islam is a tolerant religion. For example, we not only invited Muslim jazz musicians, but also Christian jazz musicians such as Barry Likumahuwa and also Jilly Likumahuwa,” he explained.

The first Ramadan Jazz Festival, held in 2011, attracted 2,500 young audience members from the greater Jakarta area. This year, attendance at the July 27th-28th event topped 4,000.

Audience members also helped support local libraries. Instead of purchasing a ticket, those attending the event were asked to donate a children’s book.

Andhika Mauludi, a RICMA spokesman who chaired the event, told Khabar the books will be donated to ten libraries in East Nusa Tenggara Province.

“Every book was exchanged for an entrance ticket. For those who did not bring books, we sold a donation ticket for a nominal 20,000 rupiah ($2). The money will be used to buy more books,” he said.

“Last week, we were able to collect 1,600 books, which was more than our target of 1,000. We also raised one million rupiah ($106) in donations,” he said.

The books will be examined prior to delivery to ensure that none contains portrayals of violence, racism, or other sensitive issues, he said. RICMA plans to sort them that after Idul Fitri (Eid Mubarak). Then, they will be donated through the non-profit Sabantara Community at the University of Indonesia, which has a book donation programme.

Islam for a new generation

Andhika told Khabar that RICMA has been using non-conventional approaches to engage young Indonesian Muslims since the early 1990s.

“The jazz festival is actually not our first modern approach to preaching. Previously, we have held events such as Bike to Mosque and the Jakarta Islamic Fashion Guide,” he went on.

He believes that these are some of the best ways to reach Indonesian youth.

“We hope that by using a modern approach, we could attract as many young Muslims as possible to come to the mosque more often and be active and involved in mosque activities,” Andhika explained.