Indonesians Turn to Islamist Groups for Disaster Aid

 

The flags hanging outside Anwar Ragaua’s house near the Indonesian city of Palu have led to warnings from the police. But the 50-year-old fisherman promises he is not taking them down.

The police were not there to help when he was the only one in his community to survive the tsunami¹ that hit Palu last September. Neither were the government or aid organizations that came to the affected² area in the hard-to-reach part of the island of Sulawesi.

Instead, the first people to offer him hope — and a new boat — were members of a conservative Islamic group known for violent acts.

“All this time I had often been offered similar assistance from various organizations, government and non-government, but they only made promises,” Ragaua said.

Today, the Islamic Defenders³ Front’s white and green flag hangs outside Ragaua’s house. So does a large black flag with white Arabic writing. Flags similar to it have become linked with violent extremism.

Since the Islamic Defenders Front group was established 20 years ago, it has pushed for Islamic law to govern the lives of Indonesia’s 230 million Muslims. The group’s leaders aim to correct what they see as the errors of Indonesia’s 1945 constitution, which established a secular⁵ state and religious freedom.

The group has recently had some unexpected and surprising political victories. Its successes are only partly due to the growth of conservative Islam in Indonesia.

The group’s success also can be linked to a 10-year effort to repurpose its militia⁶. It has turned its fighters into a force that is skilled at helping⁷ the poor and searching for victims of natural disasters.

Researchers say members of Indonesia’s military formed the Islamic Defenders Front after the fall of former president Suharto in 1998. They say the group formed as a tool for dealing⁸ with pro-democracy activists⁹ and liberalism.

The group was able to act without fear of punishment from the law. And it became known for criminal activities and violent attacks. It now has members in 23 of Indonesia’s 34 provinces and a military-like command structure.

Maman Suryadi Abdurrahman is the head of the front’s Islamic Defender⁴ Troops militia. He told the Associated Press the organization has one million members. Researchers have said its membership is much smaller, estimating that it numbers in the tens of thousands.

The group does not propose that Indonesia become a caliphate -- a state run by an Islamic ruler. Instead, the group says it wants Islamic law to govern the nine out of 10 Indonesian citizens who are Muslim. Its leaders wear the red-and-white Indonesian flag on their official clothing and often work with nationalistic causes.

The group says it has eased some of its violent methods. But it still forcefully deals with what it calls “community diseases” such as sex work, same-sex relationships and celebrations of Western holidays. It does so, it says, at the request of local communities.

“We’ve tried to improve our image,” Abdurrahman said. “We’ve changed the ways of our demonstrations¹⁰ to be more persuasive¹¹ and peaceful.”

In doing so, it has followed the same path as other deeply conservative groups in Indonesia, including Hizbut Tahrir. This group, which does seek a caliphate, was banned last year.

Alexander Arifianto is an Indonesian politics expert at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He said Indonesian groups copied Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood¹², which led Islamic charities in the 1970s and 1980s and became very popular.

The Islamic Defenders Front’s aid effort is known as Red Crescent Indonesia. It is not part of the International Federation¹³ of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. But it was very busy last year.

Along with the Palu disaster that killed more than 4,000 people, earthquakes killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes on the island of Lombok. A tsunami also caused major damage on the Sunda Strait coastlines of Java and Sumatra.

Indonesia is made up of 17,000 islands. Its central government has often been accused of ignoring hard-to-reach areas far from Java, the center of political and economic power.

But the Islamic Defenders Front was right there at each disaster. Its members searched for victims, gave out aid and built temporary housing and new religious centers. Its usual social services -- such as free health care -- have become important for poor people in cities.

The front’s rising political power was notable in 2016 and 2017, when it organized hundreds of thousands to protest the Christian¹⁴ governor of the capital, Jakarta.

And, in April’s presidential election, the front backed former general Prabowo Subianto. He won a large majority of votes in religiously conservative provinces. However, President Joko Widodo won re-election by appealing to less conservative and minority voters.

I’m Kelly Jean Kelly. And I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

tsunami – n. a very high, large wave in the ocean that is usually caused by an earthquake under the sea and that can cause great destruction when it reaches land

various – adj. used to refer to several different or many different things or people

error(s) – n. something that is not correct

secular – adj. not religious

liberalism – n. belief in the value of social and political change in order to make progress

province(s) – n. any one of a the large parts that some countries are divided into

nationalistic – adj. relating to or showing belief that your country is better and more important than other countries

persuasive – adj. able to cause people to do or believe something

charities – n. organizations that help people in need

1 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 defender   

n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人

参考例句：

• He shouldered off a defender and shot at goal.他用肩膀挡开防守队员，然后射门。
• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。

5 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

6 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

9 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 persuasive   

adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的

参考例句：

• His arguments in favour of a new school are very persuasive.他赞成办一座新学校的理由很有说服力。
• The evidence was not really persuasive enough.证据并不是太有说服力。

12 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

13 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。