Winning without war in Indonesia

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/09/03/winning-without-war-indonesia.html

Testriono, Jakarta | Sat, 09/03/2011 8:00 AM

I recently met some friends through social media who were elementary or junior high students when the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Most of these young people agree that such terrorism could never be warranted. For example, Qurrota Ayuni, 24, said: “Whatever the reasons behind the 9/11 attack, it cannot be justified in the name of humanity. It killed thousands of innocent people for the sake of narrow, sectarian interests.”

However, the main concern of these youth was the effect of 9/11 on their own country.

Unfortunately, in Indonesia the effects of 9/11 are linked to the perception that the West is at war with Islam — a perception that has indirectly contributed to an increase in the number of extremist Indonesian Muslim youth. For the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11, a fitting legacy is to encourage peaceful outlets for youth to engage in society.

Sadly, a small but significant number of Indonesian youth have taken part in terrorist attacks in the country in recent years. For instance, in January 2011 police arrested six terrorist suspects between the ages of 19 and 21 in Klaten, Central Java.

Muslim youth involvement in extremist movements was also confirmed by a survey conducted in Jakarta from 2010 to 2011 by the Institute for Studies on Islam and Peace. The survey revealed that some junior and senior high school students are willing to engage in various acts of violence, shut down or attack night clubs, forcibly close houses of worship of other faiths or aid Muslims in conflict zones by providing them with weapons.

Important to the process of de-radicalizing youth is their involvement in meaningful organizations. Sadly, associations targeting youth have been on the decline in recent years.

After Indonesian President Soeharto’s departure in 1998, which resulted in a new era of reform in Indonesia, many youth associations were incorporated into local or national political parties in order to provide additional support for electoral candidates. Of those groups not focused on politics, many seek to raise collective piety, and offer youth involvement in radical organizations such as the Islam Defenders Front (FPI).

The radicalization of Muslim youth is taking place concurrently with the declining popularity of youth organizations focused on developing character and creativity. Karang Taruna — a network of youth organizations in villages that empower youth through activities like playing sports, learning financial skills and creating artwork — are rarely found these days.

The general chairman of Karang Taruna, Taufan E. N. Rotorasiko, says that one of the reasons Karang Taruna is both less attractive to youth and less active in conducting activities than in past years is that the Social Affairs Ministry, once the main patron of Karang Taruna, was disbanded during the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999.

Involving young people in creative activities like art and sports can reduce the risk of them joining extremist groups because they have the opportunities to develop friendships with youth from different ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds, thereby increasing their tolerance of diversity.

For example, the students of Pesantren Pabelan in Magelang, Central Java, are involved in the International Award for Young People (IAYP), an international award program that is aimed at individuals between the ages of 14 and 25, and who are interested in engaging in a voluntary self-development program.

Nurul Faizah, IAYP’s program coordinator, works at an Islamic boarding school called Pesantren Pabelan. Faizah says that the program helps students be more open to differences in others’ backgrounds. For instance, student participants engage in discussions with peers from non-Muslim schools and play friendly sports matches with students from Catholic seminaries nearby.

There are also examples of successful youth associations at the university level, such as the Ciputat Student Forum, which is the oldest Indonesian student study club. Based in the Banten province, its activists develop open, democratic and critical thinking, and are committed to defending human rights. The club’s members also actively oppose discrimination against minorities.

These examples show that de-radicalization programs that encourage the growth of youth associations independent of politics should be part of the solution to stop radical movements.

Countering radical movements requires a soft approach. Sadly, one of the legacies of 9/11 was the so-called “war on terror”, which helped regenerate radical movements by attracting youth to radical, mainly anti-US causes.

There is a better way to combat radicalism and terrorism, which has been proven to work in Indonesia — and in many other countries. It is to empower youth, helping them achieve positive aspirations and, in the process, abandon negative and violent ones.

Following this path would provide youth with a better outlook for the future and a more fitting closure to the 9/11 tragedy.

The writer is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Islam and Society at the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.

Menang tanpa perang: memperkuat organisasi kepemudaan di Indonesia

oleh Testriono
02 September 2011

Jakarta – Baru-baru ini lewat media sosial saya bertegur sapa dengan beberapa teman yang dulu masih berada di bangku sekolah dasar atau sekolah menengah pertama ketika serangan teroris 11 September terjadi di Amerika Serikat. Sebagian besar dari anak-anak muda ini sepakat bahwa terorisme semacam itu tidak bisa dibenarkan. Qurrota Ayuni, 24, misalnya mengatakan: “Apa pun alasannya, serangan 11 September tidak bisa dibenarkan atas nama kemanusiaan. Teror itu membunuh ribuan orang tidak bersalah demi kepentingan sektarian yang sempit.”

Namun, perhatian utama para pemuda ini adalah dampak peristiwa 11 September pada negara mereka sendiri.

Sayangnya, di Indonesia dampak 11 September terkait dengan persepsi bahwa Barat sedang berperang dengan Islam – persepsi yang telah secara tidak langsung turut menambah jumlah anak muda Muslim ekstremis di Indonesia. Memperingati sepuluh tahun 11 September, yang tepat dilakukan adalah mendorong wahana-wahana damai agar pemuda terlibat dalam masyarakat.

Yang menyedihkan, sebagian anak muda, meski sedikit tetapi signifikan, telah ambil bagian dalam aksi teroris di Indonesia dalam beberapa tahun belakangan. Misalnya, Januari lalu, polisi menangkap enam tersangka teroris yang berusia antara 19 dan 21 tahun di Klaten, Jawa Tengah.

Keterlibatan pemuda dalam gerakan ekstremis juga dibenarkan oleh survei yang diadakan di Jakarta dari 2010 hingga 2011 oleh Lembaga Kajian Islam dan Perdamaian. Survei tersebut mengungkap bahwa sebagian siswa sekolah menengah pertama dan sekolah menengah atas memiliki kemauan untuk terlibat dalam berbagai tindak kekerasan, memberantas atau menggerebek klub-klub malam, menutup paksa rumah ibadah agama lain atau membantu Muslim di wilayah konflik dengan memasok senjata kepada mereka.

Yang penting dalam proses deradikalisasi pemuda adalah keterlibatan mereka berorganisasi. Sayangnya, organisasi-organisasi yang menyasar pemuda telah menurun dalam beberapa tahun belakangan. Setelah lengsernya Suharto pada 1998, yang menggulirkan reformasi, banyak perhimpunan pemuda tergabung dalam partai-partai politik, baik lokal atau nasional, demi memberi tambahan dukungan bagi para kandidat. Di antara organisasi-organisasi yang tidak terfokus pada politik pun, banyak yang berusaha meningkatkan kesalehan kolektif dan melibatkan pemuda dalam organisasi-organisasi radikal seperti Front Pembela Islam (FPI).

Radikalisasi pemuda Muslim saat ini terjadi seiring dengan menurunnya popularitas organisasi pemuda yang fokus pada pengembangan karakter dan kreativitas. Karang Taruna – yang merupakan jejaring pemuda di desa-desa yang memberdayakan pemuda lewat kegiatan seperti olahraga, pelatihan keterampilan keuangan dan seni – jarang ditemukan dewasa ini. Ketua Umum Karang Taruna, Taufan E. N. Rotorasiko, mengatakan bahwa salah satu alasan mengapa Karang Taruna kurang menarik buat pemuda dan kurang aktif mengadakan kegiatan di tahun-tahun terakhir adalah karena Departemen Sosial, yang pernah menjadi pelindung utama Karang Taruna, dihapus pada masa Presiden Abdurrahman Wahid pada 1999.

Melibatkan pemuda dalam kegiatan kreatif seperti seni dan olahraga bisa menurunkan risiko bergabungnya mereka dengan kelompok-kelompok ekstremis karena mereka mempunyai kesempatan untuk bergaul dengan para pemuda dari latar belakang etnis, agama dan sosio-ekonomi yang berbeda, dan karenanya meningkatkan toleransi mereka terhadap keragaman.

Misalnya, para santri di Pesantren Pabelan, Magelang, Jawa Tengah, terlibat dalam International Award for Young People (IAYP), program penghargaan internasional yang ditujukan pada para individu berusia 14 hingga 25 tahun, yang tertarik dalam program pengembangan diri.

Nurul Faizah, kordinator program IAYP yang bekerja di Pesantren Pabelan, mengatakan bahwa program ini membantu para pelajar menjadi lebih terbuka pada perbedaan latar belakang orang lain. Misalnya, para pelajar peserta terlibat dalam diskusi dengan para pelajar dari sekolah non-Muslim dan memainkan pertandingan olahraga persahabatan dengan para pelajar dari seminari Katolik setempat.

Ada pula contoh-contoh keberhasilan perhimpunan pemuda di tingkat mahasiswa, seperti Forum Mahasiswa Ciputat (Formaci), yang terbilang kelompok diskusi mahasiswa tertua di Indonesia yang masih ada. Para aktivis Formaci mengembangkan pemikiran terbuka, demokratis dan kritis, dan berkomitmen memperjuangkan HAM. Para anggota Formaci juga secara aktif melawan diskriminasi terhadap kelompok minoritas.

Contoh-contoh ini menunjukkan bahwa program deradikalisasi yang mendorong tumbuhnya perkumpulan pemuda yang independen dari politik seharusnya menjadi bagian dari solusi untuk menghentikan gerakan-gerakan radikal.

Melawan gerakan-gerakan radikal butuh pendekatan yang lunak. Yang menyedihkan, salah satu warisan 11 September adalah apa yang disebut “perang melawan teror”, yang justru turut membuat gerakan-gerakan radikal bangkit dengan merekrut anak muda dalam perjuangan radikal anti-Amerika.

Ada cara yang lebih baik untuk memerangi radikalisme dan terorisme, yang terbukti berhasil di Indonesia – juga di banyak negara. Yaitu, memberdayakan pemuda, dengan membantu mereka mencapai cita-cita yang positif dan, dalam prosesnya, meninggalkan yang negatif dan bernuansa kekerasan. Bila cara ini diikuti, ini akan memberi pemuda cara pandang yang lebih baik terhadap masa depan, dan akhir yang lebih pas bagi tragedi 11 September.

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* Testriono ialah peneliti di Pusat Pengkajian Islam dan Masyarakat, Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.

Artikel ini adalah bagian dari seri peringatan sepuluh tahun tragedi 11 September yang ditulis untuk Kantor Berita Common Ground (CGNews).

Sumber: Kantor Berita Common Ground (CGNews), 02 September 2011 2011, www.commongroundnews.org
Telah memperoleh izin publikasi.

Winning without war: empowering youth associations in Indonesia

by Testriono
30 August 2011

Jakarta - I recently met some friends through social media who were elementary or junior high school students when the 9/11 terrorist attacks hit the United States. Most of these young people agree that such terrorism could never be warranted. For example, Qurrota Ayuni, 24, said: “Whatever the reasons behind the 9/11 attack, it cannot be justified in the name of humanity. It killed thousands of innocent people for the sake of narrow, sectarian interests.”

However, the main concern of these youth was the effect of 9/11 on their own country.

Unfortunately, in Indonesia the effects of 9/11 are linked to the perception that the West is at war with Islam – a perception that has indirectly contributed to an increase in the number of extremist Indonesian Muslim youth. For the upcoming tenth anniversary of 9/11, a fitting legacy is to encourage peaceful outlets for youth to engage in society.

Sadly, a small but significant number of Indonesian youth have taken part in terrorist attacks in the country in recent years. For instance, in January 2011 police arrested six terrorist suspects between the ages of 19 and 21 in Klaten, Central Java.

Muslim youth involvement in extremist movements was also confirmed by a survey conducted in Jakarta from 2010 to 2011 by the Institute for Studies on Islam and Peace. The survey revealed that some junior and senior high school students are willing to engage in various acts of violence, shut down or attack night clubs, forcibly close houses of worship of other faiths or aid Muslims in conflict zones by providing them with weapons.

Important to the process of de-radicalising youth is their involvement in meaningful organisations. Sadly, associations targeting youth have been on the decline in recent years. After Indonesian President Suharto’s departure in 1998, which resulted in a new era of reform in Indonesia, many youth associations were incorporated into local or national political parties in order to provide additional support for electoral candidates. Of those groups not focused on politics, many seek to raise collective piety, and offer youth involvement in radical organisations such as the Islamic Defender Front (FPI).

The radicalisation of Muslim youth is taking place concurrently with the declining popularity of youth organisations focused on developing character and creativity. Karang Taruna – a network of youth organisations in villages that empower youth through activities like playing sports, learning financial skills and creating artwork – are rarely found these days. The General Chairman of Karang Taruna, Taufan E. N. Rotorasiko, says that one of the reasons Karang Taruna is both less attractive to youth and less active in conducting activities than in past years is that the Ministry of Social Affairs, once the main patron of Karang Taruna, was disbanded during the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999.

Involving young people in creative activities like art and sports can reduce the risk of them joining extremist groups because they have the opportunities to develop friendships with youth from different ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds, thereby increasing their tolerance of diversity.

For example, the students of Pesantren Pabelan in Magelang, Central Java, are involved in the International Award for Young People (IAYP), an international award programme that is aimed at individuals between the ages of 14 and 25, and who are interested in engaging in a voluntary self-development programme.

Nurul Faizah, IAYP's programme coordinator, works at an Islamic boarding school called Pesantren Pabelan. Faizah says that the programme helps students be more open to differences in others’ backgrounds. For instance, student participants engage in discussions with peers from non-Muslim schools and play friendly sports matches with students from Catholic seminaries nearby.

There are also examples of successful youth associations at the university level, such as the Ciputat Student Forum, which is the oldest Indonesian student study club. Based in the Banten province, its activists develop open, democratic and critical thinking, and are committed to defending human rights. The club’s members also actively oppose discrimination against minorities.

These examples show that de-radicalisation programmes that encourage the growth of youth associations independent of politics should be part of the solution to stop radical movements.

Countering radical movements requires a soft approach. Sadly, one of the legacies of 9/11 was the so-called “war on terror”, which helped regenerate radical movements by attracting youth to radical, mainly anti-US causes.

There is a better way to combat radicalism and terrorism, which has been proven to work in Indonesia – and in many other countries. It is to empower youth, helping them achieve positive aspirations and, in the process, abandon negative and violent ones. Following this path would provide youth with a better outlook for the future and a more fitting closure to the 9/11 tragedy.

###

* Testriono is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Islam and Society at the State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta. This article is part of a series marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11 written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 30 August 2011, www.commongroundnews.org
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