Jakarta, NU Online
Dalam rangka kampanye Islam damai dan anti kekerasan, lembaga swadaya masyarakat (Non Government Organication/NGO) Arus Damai mengunjungi Pengurus Besar Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) di Jakarta, Kamis (13/8) malam. Kunjungan ke PBNU ini merupakan rangkaian muhibah mereka ke beberapa kota di Indonesia.

Di Gedung PBNU Jl. Kramat Raya 164 Jakarta Pusat, rombongan diterima oleh Rais Syuriyah KH Hafidh Usman dan Wakil Sekretaris Ikbal Sullam. Beberapa di antara tokoh rombongan Arus Damai ini adalah Siradj Hendrik dari Afrika Selatan, Ahmad Babikir dari Sudan, Nadzim Bakh (Canada) dan Leyaket Ali dari Singapura.

Kepada rombongan, Hafidh Usman menyatakan apresiasi dan dukungan atas kampanye islam damai yang mereka suarakan. “Marhaban bi khuduurikum wa nuhanni’ukum bi mahabbatil Muslimin ila ikhwatihi/ Selamat datang atas kedatangan tuan-tuan. kami sambut kalian dengan persaudaraan sesama Muslim.” sambut Hafidh.

Sementara Ikbal Sullam menyampaikan sejarah NU kepada rombongan atas permintaan mereka. Pertemuan kemudian ditutup oleh doa bersama yang dipimpin oleh KH Hafidh Usman. (min)

While the moral majority in the West scrambles to keep alive the virtues of tolerance and generosity, Muslims must likewise cling to the essence of the Prophetic virtues of love, mercy and gratitude. They would be wise to do this with humor, gentleness and good faith.

A recent cover story in the prestigious Economist magazine captured Europe’s apprehension with Islam and Muslims when it invoked the term “Eurabia” over a picture of the Eiffel Tower. By kowtowing to Muslims, the Economist wrote, Islam and Muslims were now poised to deflower Europe’s pristine secular landscape.

The once notoriously neutral Swiss will hold a referendum later this year on the question of whether Swiss mosques should be allowed to have minarets. To the adherents of the ‘Eurabia’ thesis, minarets are not a reflection of the spiritual essence of a great Abrahamic tradition, but the political aspirations of Muslims to reestablish the Caliphate, only this time on European soil.

If the pundits of ‘Eurabia’ availed themselves an opportunity to attend a typical meeting at any of the hundred or so Swiss mosques, with or without minarets, they might hear the loud reverberations of angry board members shouting at each other for hours over what to do about the increasing number of worshippers oblivious to simple parking rules.

‘Eurabia’ has acquired a following in the upper echelons of society even in Canada and the United States. Of all the issues that afflict France’s ten million Muslims, Nicholas Sarkozy would have the world believe that in preventing a mere 300 women from wearing the niqab, he is a worthy champion of Europe’s secular ideals.

The leap from this alarming discourse to the violent outburst of a crazed German man stabbing to death a pregnant Egyptian pharmacist in a Dresden courtroom while her four-year-old son watched in sheer horror, is not impossible. As her brave husband wrestled with the knife wielding attacker, police assumed the man with the swarthy complexion must be the aggressor and shot him. When relatives of Marwa El-Sherbini pleaded with authorities for custody of her son, German authorities thought he was better off in an orphanage.

Targeting the hijab is a daily occurrence in Canada and the United States in spite of President Barack Obama’s superb Cairo speech. While Obama might have taken the opportunity to host a ‘teachable moment’ on the lawns of the White House as he did recently with Harvard scholar Henry Gates and the White cop that arrested the elderly professor in his own home — perhaps with a choice of teh or kopi instead of Bud Light or Blue Moon beers — German Chancellor Angela Merkel would make no such gesture. El-Sherbini, in the eyes of the liberal media, was attacked by a madman. End of story.

Among Muslims however, her death was that of a martyr and it too – like the horrid Danish cartoon fiasco — evoked the same tired response of emotionally charged protesters taking to the streets of Alexandria, Amman and Damascus.

Even as the pendulum of public opinion swings away from pluralism and accommodation towards intolerance and racism, Muslims are required, now more than ever, to boldly engage with those who share a commitment to spiritual beauty and an aspiration for happiness here and the Hereafter.

One way of opening the doors to constructive engagement is to excavate the spiritual gems embedded in Europe’s history. Exactly a hundred years ago, Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) one of Germany’s greatest poets, saw the spirit of Muhammadiyya in still pictures his wife sent to him from her visit to Egypt, the country of El-Sherbini’s birth.

At the time Rilke was experiencing a deep sense of alienation and loneliness and was probing he meaning of human existence. He turned to the Quran for answers. Fascinated by what he was reading, he wrote, “And once I tried to learn the Quran by heart. I didn’t get very far, but what I did understand was that there you see a mighty index finger, pointing towards God, grasped in His eternal rise, in an Orient that will never be exhausted.”

After studying the life of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, Rilke concluded that the solution to the deep social and psychological alienation that was squeezing the soul out of the people of Europe was to submit to God’s will, like the followers of Muhammad in the East.

It was then that he penned “Mohammed’s Berufung”, translated into English as ‘Mohammed’s Call.’

“Power stepped into his hiding place;
at once a presence he could not mistake
He begged the Angel – upright, fair and ablaze –
to leave him as he was.

He would forsake all his ambitions;
it was best he stayed that baffled,
over-traveled man of trade.

He’d never learned his letters,
and now such a word!
For wise men, even, far too much.

But no, the Angel fiercely showed
and showed the writing on its leaf.
This will that glowed would not back down,
again demanding – Read.

And then he did. The Angel bowed its head before him,
one from thenceforth who had Read, who knew, obeyed,
and carried out the decrees.

Rilke refers to the Angel Gabriel as a ‘power’ that entered his cave (on Mount  Hira). The Prophet was palpably afraid and begged to be left alone – to be that ‘baffled over-traveled’ trader. Muhammad, God’s blessings be upon him, could not read nor write, and when the Angel demanded that he Read, Rilke said ‘it was far too much,’ but once he did, the Angel bowed in difference to him.

For a German poet to write this a hundred years ago suggests that Rilke must have read more than the equivalent of a copy of ‘Islam for Dummies.’

Shortly after writing the poem Rilke embarked on a journey of his own to North Africa. Moved by the way the daily prayers fused seamlessly into whatever occupied people, Rilke wrote home: “it is as if the Prophet had been there only yesterday, and the city is his very realm.”

The prescient question we need to ask ourselves today is whether the Germans, French, Danish, British or Americans would still see the spirit of Muhammadiyya,  reflected in our lives. Unfortunately, they are more likely to see the anguished faces of Muslims brow-beaten by narrow-minded scholars who anxiously drop the anvil of bi’da on every happy occasion even that of the mawlid of God’s noble messenger, Muhammad, may Allah shower him with his choicest blessings.

Nazim Baksh is an award-winning investigative journalist and producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and has worked in extensively in Afghanistan, Pakistan and most recently reported from Guantanamo Bay. He visited  Jakarta & Jogjakarta recently (August 2009) as part of a tour organized by the Arus Damai campaign (www.arusdamai.com).

JOGJA: Terrorism isn’t a religious ideology but is instead an ideology of hatred and violence. The main aim of many acts of terrorism in the world is to cause fear within society. These acts of terrorism oftentimes carry the name of groups that hide themselves behind Islamic ideologies.

The terrorist’s claim is often aired by mass media without additional explanation of true Islamic ideology. “Western society,” said Nazim Baksh from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), “receive information which only states that the terrorist acts are carried out by Islamic groups, without further explanation, which in turn leads to prejudice.”

“The ideology that terrorism is not a part of religion has not been explained enough,” said Nazim while speaking at the International Islamic Youth Seminar at National Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga on Tuesday (11/8). He added that the “suicide bombers that are part of a terrorist group are usually new converts to Islam. This is why they are easily persuaded with the ideas of heaven and a successful afterlife, which can be gained by killing civilians.”

“False doctrines can be easily given because of lack of understanding,” said Nazim, who once conducted research on the bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC) in 1993. “The problem of terrorism,” he continued, “can be solved if the political and economic source of that hatred is gone. Good understanding between culture and religion can also get rid of prejudice between the different parts of the world that are connected in the matters of terrorism.”

Also present for the seminar—which was organised by Arus Damai (The Radical Middle Way), Nahdlatul Ulama’s Student League (IPNU) for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) and Simply Islam -  were Prof. Seraj Hendricks from South Africa and Shaykh Ahmed Babikir from Sudan. Meanwhile, Prof. Muhammad Maksum, head of NU’s regional office for DIY, said that, “ As an organisation that has existed for 85 years, NU will firmly stand by its principles of spreading peace and welfare to people.”

General Commissioner of DIY’s Crime Division, Napoleon Bonaparte, firmly stated that terrorists tend to accept the wrong doctrine. Therefore the role falls on the Ministry of Religion, universities, pesantren to make sure that the teachings that are given to new converts are the right teachings. Terrorism prevention can also be done by fixing family communications.

By Miftahul Ulum
HARIAN JOGJA

Source: http://www.harianjogja.com/web2/beritas/detailberita/7748

JAKARTA — Pondok pesantren (ponpes/Islamic boarding schools) are not educational institutes which teach radicalism. The Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University’s (UIN) Dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Science, Prof. Bahtiar Effendy, asked the public not to generalise ponpes as a place where divergent thoughts or radicalism is taught.

“We cannot make such generalisation because that kind of perception (that ponpes is a source of radicalisation-Ed.) is absolutely untrue,” stated Bahtiar in a discussion called “Terrorism within Modern Society” in Jakarta, Thursday (13/8). According to Bahtiar, as the oldest educational institute in the country, ponpes have generated a number of famous Muslim figures, such as KH Wahid Hasyim, Din Syamsuddin, Nurcholish Madjid, and Hidayat Nur Wahid.

Bahtiar firmly stated that the teaching methods found in ponpes curriculum have been the same, whether in the past or today. Even, he said, ponpes has provided service to the Indonesian people in fighting colonialism. It’s not a surprise, he stated, during colonial times ponpes produced many fighters who fought against the colonialists. Bahtiar confessed that he won’t agree if anyone were to suggest that the curriculum and all the books from the ponpres be monitored and re-selected.

He said that the source of radical thoughts did not emerge in pesantren, but elsewhere. Bathiar regretted that the government was unable to detect a number of former volunteers from Indonesia who fought in the war in Afghanistan during Soviet rule in the 80’s.

These Afghan war “veterans” are believed to have kept a number of memories such as those during wartimes, even though they are now back in Indonesia. British ulema Syeikh Ahmad Babikir stated that the problem does not lie within educational establishments, but the materials that are being taught. The teacher for the Islamic School Centre called to every Muslim to ensure that their children are being given good and correct Islamic education. At this time, Babikir said, there are many Muslims who do not truly understand the meaning of the word Islam, Iman, and also Jihad.

Meanwhile, from Medan, Islamic Advocacy Foundation (LADUI) of North Sumatera implied that there is a big conspiracy (translation note: the word they used was “scenario” but I chose to use “conspiracy” because “scenario” doesn’t quite fit) aimed to discredit Islam and liken it to terrorism. “Based on the latest development, the conspiracy to credit Islam is looking like it’s starting to work,” stated the Executive Director of LADUI North Sumatera, Abu Bokar Tambak, as quoted by Antara news agency, Thursday (13/8).

According to him, this hunch can be seen from the frequency that acts of terror have been connected to jihad, which is one of the teachings of Islam. Furthermore, acts which claim lives of innocent victims have also been frequently linked with pesantren which are known to be Islam-based educational institutes. This effort, said Bokar, is reinforced by the recruitment of Muslims or people who are known to be good, especially pesantren alumni, to carry out acts of terror.

Even though, according to him, in Islam jihad does not aim to induce fear the way the recent acts of terror have done. His side is certain that a person who fully understands the teachings of Islam would not want to carry out acts which will endanger the innocents. Bokar stated that none of the pesantren in Indonesia are teaching their santri (The santri are a cultural ’stream’ of people within the population of Javanese who practice a more orthodox version of Islam—Wikipedia) to carry out acts of terror which will claim lives. Ant

Source: http://republika.co.id/koran/14/69324/Pesantren_Tolak_Radikalisme

INILAH.COM, Jakarta – The root of the terrorism issue is not an ideological factor, but instead is a socio-economical factor. The fast growth of terrorists can be halted by education.

“The main root of terrorism is more towards economic and social issues such as poverty and injustice,” said British ulema Syekh Ahmad Babikir during a discussion called “Terrorism within Modern Society” at the Sultan Hotel, Jakarta, Thursday (13/8).

In order to manage it, he said, education is very influential. Because if good education is received then matters concerning terrorism can be avoided.

“So we have to make sure that our children can tell the difference between iman, jihad, and Islam in school,” said Babikir.

Meanwhile, CBC National TV News Producer Nazim Baksh stated that doctrine is the reason why terrorists exist. That’s why in order to find out the terrorist’s way of thinking, where they grew up must be known.

“To know Noordin M Top’s way of thinking, we have to see how he grew up and who influenced him,” he said.
Nazim also told the story of Al Qaeda terrorist Abdullah Khadar who became a terrorist because he grew up in an terrorist environment. His mother and father were terrorists. And the person who influenced Khadar to become a terrorist was his mother.

Sumber : http://www.inilah.com/berita/politik/2009/08/13/141608/teroris-bisa-ditekan-bangku-sekolahan/

JAKARTA- Nonstop coverage which link terrorism to pesantren or madrasah has caused many Islamic intellectuals to become aggravated. This included a lecturer from Jakarta State Islamic University Bachtiar Effendy. “What is taught in pesantren or madrasah has been the same from long ago. So there are no sources which confirm that pesantren or madrasah are places which produce terrorists,” Bachtiar firmly stated to journalists in Jakarta, Thursday (13/8).
He admitted that there are a number of pesantren or madrasah alumni suspected of terrorism. But, he stressed that it must be emphasized where that person has obtained the radical factor which turned him into a terrorist. He said that many Indonesian figures came out of pesantren such as Hasyim Musadi and Abdurrahmant Wahid. “This is the duty of the government in monitoring its citizens. Because many people obtain radicalism from South Philippines, Pakistan, and Afghanistan,” he explained.

From the information that he obtained, up to now police have apprehended around 400 terrorists. 150 among them are imprisoned, the rest have been released. Meanwhile, there are still more out there and more that can be generated. “So the government must proceed with its own functions and make a list and monitor citizens who have been to countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and others,”

To Bahtiar, the concept of terrorism is not easy to explain because the case is different in each region. He said, Indonesia is a victim of terror, not a source of terrorists. Furthermore, what must be studied again is the catalyst, whether or not this is an ideological or a theological motivation. What about American interests towards the Middle East, especially Palestine, which causes great social and economic differences? The structure of America and its allies’ hegemony towards the Middle East has a great potential in creating radicalism.

At the same time, Syekh Ahmad Babikir, a da’i from London, England, agreed that pesantren are not sources of terrorism. He stated that Islam is a religion that loves peace and the terrorists’ brand of jihad is wrong, because jihad is not meant to kill people.

“There is no terrorism in Islam,” he firmly stated. To him social, economic, and education standings are the main reason why radicalism occurs. Religion is only a supporting factor; secondary, not primary.

“We have to convince the youths to be able to discuss openly [about] education that is right and balanced regarding the concepts of iman, Islam, and jihad. The literal meaning of Islam is peace. Islam is a way; jihad is not a reason to kill but to defend. If we accept faith then violence is not the answer. Islam is not a religion of terror,” he said.

And then the last speaker, Nazim Baksh, who is the Senior Producer of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation called on the media and journalists to view the problem of terrorism more critically as their civil duty. The Media has to write honestly about the true Islam. He also called on the people to stand and speak in order to fight for their rights and hopes that the world of education can make people understand the true meaning of Islam. (mas/JPNN)

Sumber : http://www.jpnn.com/index.php?mib=berita.detail&id=31123

In a effort to answer that question, NPCI invited 3 sources: Nazim Baksh (Senior PROducer of Canadian Boadcasting Corporation), Seraj Hendricks (Fiqh Senior Lecturer of the Islamic Colege of South Africa), and Dr. Bahtiar Effendy (Senior Lecturer of Jakarta State Islamic University).

The discussion began with the showing of the documentary film, “Son of Al Qaedah” by Nazim Baksh. The film, with the duration of 32 minutes, tells the story of Abdurahman Khadr who once took part in Al Qaeda training but then deviated and became a paid informant for the CIA. Through this movie he tried to show a form of indoctrination within a family which started early. Through this movie Nazim Baksh hoped a sort of understanding would come to being regarding the dynamism of the concept of terrorism. “This film is a comparative medium which shows that Islam is actually an enemy of terrorism,” said Nazim Baksh.

Syekh Ahmad Babikir, another source, supports Nazim Baksh’s point of view. He stated that social, economic and educational situations are the main causes of these acts. Religion is only a supporting factor, secondary and not primary.” He continued, “we have to convinced the youth to be able to discuss openly. Not to have fear between student and teacher. But brave enough to ask,” Syekh Ahmad Babikir then added that jihad is not a reason to kill but to defend [oneself] from attack.

From a different point of view, Bahtiar Effendy stated that the case of terrorism is not easy to explain because each region has a different case. He also emphasized that [the idea that] pesantren produce terrorists, something that has been considered ever since the terrorist acts occurred, is extremely untrue. He suggested that the idea is revised, because to him, Indonesia is a victim of terrorism and not a source of terrorists. He also stated, “We have always tried to find out who carries out terrorism? But more important than that, we actually have to dig deeper, what is the cause of terrorism.”

This discussion, which went on for one hour, was attended by colleagues within mass media. In his conclusion, Nazim Baksh called on media and journalists to look at this problem of terrorism more critically as their civil duty. Syekh Ahmad Babikir also called on the media to write honestly and ask society to speak bravely in order to fight for their right. Meanwhile, Dr. Bahtiar Effendy asked the people to place their trust in the government in closing terrorism cases in Indonesia. “Without trust, it impossible for the problem of terrorism to finish,” he concluded.

Sumber : http://vibizdaily.com/detail/sosbud/2009/08/14/indonesia_korban_teroris_bukan_sumber

JAKARTA: Indonesia is a country that has become a victim of terrorism, it does not produce terrorists, explained Bachtiar Effendi, lecturer and researcher from State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta.

According to him, the government must be responsible in the creation of suicide bombers in the country.
“If the government is serious in carrying out its functions in a good manner, for example with social issues, I think that there will be no more terrorists in Indonesia,” he said during a discussion with the theme of Terrorism within Modern Society in Jakarta, yesterday.

Nazim Baksh, a journalist from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), stated that in order to find out what motivates a person to become a terrorist, we have to look at their surroundings. (Bisnis/m04)

Source : http://web.bisnis.com/edisi-cetak/edisi-harian/umum/1id132820.html

JAKARTA – Expert on problems of terrorism and the process of radicalisation, Nazim Baksh stated that it’s important to know (trans note: the sentence is unfinished. I have no idea what the writer is trying to say.) in order to find out and recognise the different environmental dynamism of a terrorist.

“We have to uncover who planted radical thoughts inside the perpetrators’ heads,” said Baksh, who is also a Canadian senior reporter, in Jakarta, this morning.

According to him, by finding out the terrorist’s various interactions we are able to gain more understanding on their way of thinking and to do something to anticipate them. The environmental dynamism, he said, can be found within the family and within their community.

“Usually there is a specific person who is very influential,” said the Senior Producer of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

Nazim has made many documentaries which focus on the main cause of terrorism and the motivation of the supporters and followers of organisations such as Al Qaeda. One of his documentaries is “The Son of Al Qaeda” which tells the tale of Abdurrahman Khadr, a Canadian citizen whose father is a close friend of Osama bin Laden.

The documentary shows how Khadr was raised within the Al Qaeda organisation but then decided to become an informant for the United States during the time of the war on terror.

Another speaker during the discussion, Dean of the Faculty of Political Science of State Islamic University (UIN) Jakarta, Bahtiar Effendi stated that the government must be truly serious in carrying out the deradicalisation program to anticipate terrorism.

“If the government is serious, something like this will not happen again,” he said.

Sumber : http://www.waspada.co.id/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=45007:pahami-perilaku-teroris-untuk-antisipasi-terorisme&catid=17:nasional&Itemid=30