Like I said few posts ago, I’m totally not into politics. In fact, every time a political topic is being brought up to a conversation, I would see myself out, mainly because of my “sense of distrust” towards these “people’s representative”. While the rest of the world is currently dealing with the rapidly spreading Novel Coronavirus (Indonesia now has one confirmed case, but the one in question contracted it in Singapore), There is a quite a talk to bring back 600 Indonesian citizens who happened to be former ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) members. While others say that this might be a good idea, I have to be skeptical about this. Not because of me don’t want them back, but more like a concern that some, if not all of them is already corrupted by those toxic mindsets. This idea first came out from Fachrul Razi, current Indonesian Minister of religious Affairs and former military personnel of all people. It is still being discussed, but already some elements of the society are against this idea, even President Joko Widodo himself who personally denied that proposition if that same idea is being asked to him in person. Vice President Ma’Ruf Amin even stated that this issue, along with the coronavirus case must be treated carefully.
But why so, you may ask? There is a possibility if these guys are back in the country without proper procedure, they end up spreading their (or ISIS) version of the Islamic values, which I can guarantee as the most incorrect and misleading values you’ve ever come across. To put this into a perspective, Indonesia is known for having six official religions recognized by the government (Islam, Catholic and Protestant branch of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism). And by putting one religion above the rest of them will spark outrage. The ISIS’ vision of Islam is to make their Islam the global religion that must be practiced by literally everyone, whether willingly or forcefully. Any answers other than “yes” means death sentence. Some might say that the reason these guys joined them in the first place is because of the vision (or as I say illusion) of the true essence of being a Muslim under one large, global scale caliphate. They might be tired of current situation of their home country and proceed to join this group in hoping for a better life and freedom from religious oppression (some countries still have questionable figures who openly disrespect Islam, like Dutch politician Geert Wilders). Or maybe because of the desire to establish themselves as the force to be reckon with when it comes to global power. Other reason is to “purify” the world from any governmental system or even traces of previous culture and civilization as well as establish Islam as the true religion (kind of like when Hitler first rose to power with the Nazi Germany with the Aryan “Master Race”).
Currently, beside President Jokowi, other politicians also voice their concern, even as far as condemning the move, like former opposition Ferdinand Hutahaean from the Democrat Party. On his tweet as quoted in an article at suara.com, he asks the Jokowi administration to follow the footsteps of Australia, who passed the law effectively banning Australian citizens from coming back after joining the terror organization. He insists that if that same group of people ever came back, there will be a plague of clashing ideologies. The National Democrat Party is also on the same page as Hutahaean and President Jokowi. Representative Saan Mustopa told the media as reported by detik.com that their knowledge of Islam and ISIS that is still unclear might be a problem in future days. Golkar Party even voiced an extreme statement that those who joined ISIS is no longer an Indonesian citizen who have been exposed to the terrorist ideology, even as far as denouncing their Indonesian citizenship themselves.
But for those who support the idea, they are also calculating the more suitable ways to bring those people home. Asrul Sani of the Unity and Development Party stated that there are two options on how to get them home. If there are those who are fully exposed to ISIS’ ideology and believes in them, they are ruled ineligible for the trip home, and must face the court of law in the country that they commit those crimes. On the other hand, if in that same group, there are some who were deceived and fooled to come to Syria (and ISIS) for better life and true Islamic values but ended up suffering from even harsher conditions should be consider as a priority. But even with all options present, deradicalization from that ideology remains the only vital process to fully bring those Indonesians back home.
We can sit here and debating on whether we agree or not for hours, but quite frankly, I prefer to monitor the situation and hopefully, the Jokowi administration would come up with an effective order to bring back those 600 Indonesians from Syria, with a guarantee that these same group of people already deradicalized from those toxic ideas and values. In the bottom of my heart, I really wish that these men and women could come back home safely, but part of me also doubting this move, because once an ideology has been planted to someone’s heart and soul, it would be almost impossible to combat those ideas. It would be a waste move if majority of them ended up committing another religious-based hate crime. For President Jokowi and Minister Fachrul Razi, please consider the pros and cons of this move, the benefits and the possible losses, and of course, the implication of many other Indonesians living on this 18.000+ island. Indonesia must remain unite as one, and to give up in the presence of terror is not an option.
No comments:
Post a Comment