Source: The Jakarta Post
Repentant: Nasir Abas, a former member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network, speaks during a discussion on terrorism in Jimbaran, Bali, on Monday. The discussion was part of the commemoration of the second Bali bombing, which claimed 23 lives on Oct. 1, 2005.(JP/Anggara Mahendra)
It was an unusual class. Dozens of senior high school students from Kuta and Denpasar gathered in Jimbaran to hear a lecture from a former terrorist.
“Please develop your critical thinking. Don’t take everything for granted. Digest every statement and all information really carefully,” Nasir Abas, who is known as a former Jamaah Islamiah regional head, said in a gathering held to commemorate the second Bali bombing on Monday.
The second Bali bombing happened in Oct. 1, 2005, when terrorists blew up two cafes in Jimbaran and a restaurant in Kuta, claiming the lives of 23 people and severely injuring 196 others.
Nasir told the students that they had to question hateful statements even if they were delivered by their own teachers or any other respected elder.
Nasir said that submission could have dire consequences.
He then told the story of Muhammad Syarif, a suicide bomber who blew himself up at Friday prayers in Cirebon last year. Syarif had been brainwashed, Nasir said.
Muslim scholar Masdar Farid Mas’udi of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) who also delivered a lecture in the program said that the terrorists did not represent Islam and nobody should consider what they did as virtuous.
Masdar said that NU, which boasted around 40 million members, would continue to support any effort to eradicate religious radicalism.
Categories: Asia, Counter Terrorism