Laksamana.Net - Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib insists it’s a coincidence that his radical organization announced its disbandment just days after Saturday’s terrorist attack that killed at least 180 people in Bali.

He says Laskar Jihad had to be dissolved simply because many of its members had become close to Muslim politicians, posed for photos and given interviews to female journalists.

Jafar, who is on trial in Jakarta for inciting religious violence and insulting the president, said Laskar Jihad officials on October 7 decided to disband the organization after talks with Saudi Arabian Muslim clerics (ulemas) and a series of meetings.

"We discussed the plan to disband the group long before the [October 21] Bali tragedy. In fact, it was beyond our comprehension that such a tragedy would happen only a few days after the decision was taken to disband the group," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara on Wednesday (16/10/02).

“Actually, the dissolution was discussed from October 3 to 7 with all religious leaders of the organization throughout Indonesia," he added.

Jafar said Laskar Jihad’s parent organization, the Communication Forum for Ahlussunnah Waljamaah (FKAW), was also dissolved on October 7.

He said FKAW leaders feared the organization had become too political and was being derailed from its grand mission of promoting Islam and providing “assistance” to Muslims in need.

Java-based Laskar Jihad was established in April 2000 after the May 1998 fall of authoritarian ex-president Suharto and waged savage holy wars against Christians in the Maluku islands and in Poso, Central Sulawesi. At least 9,000 people have been killed in the two regions since January 1999.

Analysts say Laskar Jihad was formed and partly funded by rogue elements of the armed forces to create chaos that would increase the military’s bargaining power with the government.

Jafar said several executives of Laskar Jihad had erred by establishing ties with Muslim politicians, including Vice President Hamzah Haz, Zainuddin M.Z. from the United Development Party of Reform (PPP-Reform), and Achmad Sumargono of the Crescent Star Party.

"We are a pure organization with a mission to propagate Islam and have no political pretensions whatsoever," he said.

Laskar Jihad members had also violated the organization’s moral code and principles by posing for photographs and having face-to-face interviews with female journalists, he added.

"Having discussed the plan with some noted ulemas in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia, we were then advised to stop all types of the group’s activities in the form of organizations.”

Jafar was close to several Muslim politicians, had posed for photographs and been interviewed by female journalists.

Following his arrest for inciting religious violence in Maluku, he was visited at his Jakarta detention cell on May 7, 2002, by Hamzah Haz, who leads the United Development Party (PPP).

Haz embraced Jafar and said: “We Muslims are brothers. There's nothing wrong with visiting someone in trouble and sympathizing.”

Analysts say Haz’s visit was prompted by political opportunism, partly due to rivalry with popular Muslim cleric Zainuddin, who leads the pro-reform breakaway faction of PPP and had earlier visited the Laskar Jihad chief.

What Next?
Observers are worried Laskar Jihad could go underground and become more radical because it has been abandoned by its alleged military masters.

There are also concerns the paramilitary group’s members will be recruited to do the dirty covert work of certain military factions and extremist religious groups. Laskar Jihad claims to have 10,000 members.

Jafar said Laskar Jihad’s members will simply return to their respective Islamic boarding schools to continue their mission to propagate Islam in their own regions.

"The dissolution of the Laskar Jihad group has nothing to do with pressure from the government," he said.

"Now I am no longer the commander of the Laskar Jihad, but leader of Ihya’us Sunnah Islamic Boarding School," he added.

More than 1,000 Laskar Jihad members have left Maluku and Poso this week and are returning to their hometowns in Java and Sulawesi. Police are reportedly monitoring the vessels they are traveling on to ensure they don’t create more trouble in other conflict regions.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Jafar said his organization disbanded after receiving assurances from security authorities that Muslims in Maluku would be protected from possible attacks by Christians.

He defended Laskar Jihad’s decision to get involved in the Maluku conflict back in 2000, saying members of the group had volunteered their services to protect local Moslems from ethnic cleansing because security authorities were powerless to stop the religious violence.

Abdul Malik, spokesman of Laskar Jihad’s Poso branch, denied the government had forced the organization to disband. "We dissolve our volunteer organization following the government’s serious commitment to maintaining security and justice in the conflict area."

He said Laskar Jihad members in Poso had not only been ready to become martyrs for the sake of upholding truth and justice, but had also worked hard to improve the welfare of local Muslims.

Report to Yogyakarta
Laskar Jihad lawyer M. Mahendradatta on Wednesday said all members had been ordered to cease their involvement in paramilitary activities and should report to the organization’s headquarters in Yogyakarta province’s Sleman district.

"Following the dissolution of Laskar Jihad, members all over the country are asked to report to Laskar’s headquarters," he said.

"The call is important to prevent former members of Laskar Jihad from being misused by certain parties intending to take advantage of the legion’s dissolution."

Mahendradatta admitted that Laskar Jihad members are extremely militant and said “other parties” might attempt to hire them for violent activities.

"This is something that we don’t want to see happen. We hope that all members of the force will follow the changed struggle being pursued by Ustad [Islamic teacher] Jafar, which is to carry out activities in the socio-religious field," he said.

The lawyer said Laskar Jihad and FKWA were disbanded because Jafar had decided to change the groups’ paramilitary function to a socio-religious role, involving education, public health services and preaching.