Blog

World’s Largest Muslim Youth Wing Calls For Re-Examination Of Islamic Text

JOMBANG, East Java, Indonesia: The world’s largest Muslim youth organisation Gerakan Pemuda Ansor (GP Ansor) – the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organisation Nadlatul Ulama (NU) – on Monday (May 22) called for a re-examination of Islamic text to adapt it to modern civilisation.

The call is a bold move from NU and comes three weeks after the jailing of Jakarta’s first ethnic Chinese Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, also known as Ahok. His conviction has raised concerns that extremists are gaining an upper hand in a country long known as the face of moderate Islam.

NU claims to have 50 million followers. Its youth wing GP Ansor warned that failure to re-examine the text will see continued bloodshed in Muslim countries, which could “threaten humanity”.

“A wide discrepancy now exists between the structure of Islamic orthodoxy and the context of Muslims’ actual reality,” said Luthfi Thomafi, a member of GP Ansor’s board. “(This is) due to immense changes that have occurred since the teachings of orthodox Islam, which became largely ossified towards the end of the medieval era.”

“Civil discord, acts of terrorism, rebellion and outright warfare – all pursued in the name of Islam – will continue to plague Muslims and threaten humanity at large, until these issues are openly acknowledged and resolved,” Thomafi added.

Among the complex issues that lie at the heart of this discrepancy are practices governing relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, according to GP Ansor. These include the rights, responsibilities and role of non-Muslims who live in Muslim-majority societies and vice versa.

The group on Monday issued a GP Ansor Declaration on Humanitarian Islam which provides a strategic road map for a coordinated, long-term effort to address issues in the Islamic world.

Key elements in the strategy include:

– New theological discourse (ijtihad) to recontextualise Islamic teachings for the modern era;

– Development and adoption of new educational curriculum throughout the Islamic world; and

– Grassroots movement(s) to build societal consensus and political will.

“Our goal is to develop an international network leading to the emergence of a global movement which shall be dedicated to the well-being of humanity as a whole – and to the fostering of a truly global civilisation – inspired by ‘humanitarian Islam’, likened to Islam rahmatan li al-‘alamin, which serves as a blessing for all creation,” said Thomafi.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

May 23, 2017
M Ravi Files Constitutional Challenge Against Changes To Elected Presidency

Human rights lawyer M. Ravi yesterday filed a constitutional challenge against changes to the elected presidency made last year.

The changes, which Parliament approved last November, tighten the qualifying criteria for candidates, and include a provision to reserve a presidential election for candidates from a racial group that has not been represented in the office for five continuous terms.

Mr Ravi argues that the changes are unconstitutional because they deprive citizens of their right to stand for public office and discriminate on the grounds of ethnicity.

The High Court confirmed that Mr Ravi had filed an originating summons and supporting affidavit.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Chambers told The Straits Times that “it will study the papers” filed by Mr Ravi.

Mr Ravi, currently a non-practising lawyer, said on Facebook that he filed the application in his capacity as a private citizen.

His is the second legal challenge related to the elected presidency mounted this month.

On May 5, former presidential candidate Tan Cheng Bock filed a challenge over whether the upcoming presidential election should be a reserved one.

Unlike Dr Tan, Mr Ravi challenges the entire reserved election mechanism as unconstitutional, he said on Facebook yesterday.

He believes that the elected presidency is not consistent with Article 12(2) of the Constitution.

It states that unless expressly authorised by the Constitution, there shall be no discrimination against Singapore citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law, or in the appointment to any office, or employment under a public authority.

“The right to stand for the elected presidency should be no different from the right to participate in parliamentary elections – all citizens should be equal,” he wrote.

“The selection of the elected candidate should be based on merit, all other relevant requirements being fulfilled.”

Mr Ravi also contends the amendments run counter to a legal principle called the basic structure doctrine, which he says applies here.

Source: www.tnp.sg

May 23, 2017
Robin Costume Among Those Confiscated During Raid Of Gay Party In Jakarta

JAKARTA • Indonesian police have detained 141 men who were allegedly holding a gay party at a sauna, an official said yesterday, the latest sign of a backlash against homosexuals in the Muslim-majority country.

Officers had on Sunday night raided a building in the capital Jakarta, called Atlantis, that houses a sauna and a gym, and halted an event they said was called “The Wild One”.

“Our officers did an undercover investigation and raided the place on Sunday,” said senior detective Nasriadi, who goes by one name.

Homosexuality and gay sex are legal everywhere in Indonesia except in conservative Aceh province, but Mr Nasriadi said that 10 of those arrested in the Jakarta raid could be charged under Indonesia’s tough anti-pornography laws.

The 10 men include the alleged organisers of the event as well as those suspected of being prostitutes and striptease dancers. Those found guilty of breaking the laws face up to 10 years in jail.

The others detained are still being questioned by police as potential witnesses in the case, the detective said.

Source: www.straitstimes.com

May 23, 2017
At Least 19 Dead In Bomb Attack At Ariana Grande Concert In Manchester Arena

Officials report 19 are dead and 50 injured following explosions at Manchester Arena where an Ariana Grande concert was held on Monday night (May 22).

Greater Manchester Police released the figure less than three hours after explosions were first reported on the scene.

NBC reports “Multiple U.S. officials say U.K. authorities suspect Manchester incident was conducted by a suicide bomber.” CBS has also reported that the explosions contained nails.

Billboard has confirmed Grande is “okay” with the singer’s rep and that her team is further investigating what happened.

According to British Transport Police, an explosion took place within the Manchester Arena’s foyer area at 10:30 p.m. local time. The foyer area is connected to the Manchester Victoria station adjacent to the venue and contains the arena’s box office, as well as a McDonald’s. Manchester Victoria station is Manchester’s second largest train station.

The explosion took place shortly after Grande finished her concert as fans exited the arena.

Speaking with Billboard, an eye witness recalled hearing a large bang outside the arena and then the PA speaker system announcing to evacuate and everyone screaming and running chaotically out of the arena. She said she saw people covered in blood as she left.

Greater Manchester is the United Kingdom’s second-most populous urban area with a population of 2.55 million.

This story is still developing. We will update as more details become available.

Source: www.billboard.com

May 23, 2017
Bintan Travel Agency Used As Front For ISIS

Indonesian militant suspect Gigih Rahmat Dewa had specific orders – set up a travel agency in Tanjung Pinang on Bintan island as a cover to facilitate the safe passage of others to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Seed money of 27 million rupiah (S$2,800) to start the business was sent to Gigih from his handler Bahrun Naim, a senior Indonesian counter-terrorism official told The Sunday Times last week.

Bahrun is an ISIS operative in Syria known to have had a hand in several terror plots in Indonesia.

The ruse could generate revenue or launder money for their cause, Bahrun told Gigih in text messages sometime in 2015, said the official. But Gigih’s cover did not last long, according to details from an ongoing trial against him and five suspects from Indonesian sleeper cell Katibah Gonggong Rebus.

Within a few months after the travel agency was set up, Gigih and his men were nabbed by Indonesian counter-terrorism police Detachment 88 for planning an attack on Singapore. Gigih, Hadi Gusti Yanda, Tarmidzi, Eka Saputra and Trio Syafidro were rounded up on Aug 5 last year in Batam. The sixth member, Leonardo Hutajulu, was arrested last September.

Indonesia’s National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Suhardi Alius had said the foiled plot involved plans to fire a rocket at Marina Bay from a hilltop in Batam.

The order to mount the strike also purportedly came from Bahrun.

Security analysts such as Institute for International Peace Building executive director Taufik Andrie say using travel agencies as fronts is a throwback to how Al-Qaeda used to operate in Indonesia before the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001, and the Bali bombing the following year.

But the trend of late, starting in 2010, also included the use of businesses selling airsoft guns to launder money from overseas to fund domestic terror activities, they said. Airsoft guns, which shoot off pellets, are often made to resemble assault rifles.

“All these are hard to detect because they are run as legitimate businesses,” added Mr Taufik. “In the past, Bahrun Naim also taught people how to buy and sell goods online using another person’s identity to avoid the authorities.”

Gigih, 31, and his five men have since been charged with harbouring militants and funding terror activities. All have pleaded not guilty.

A former information technology manager at a Batam factory, Gigih has yet to take the stand to defend himself at the trial.

The hearing, which started on Feb 1 at the East Jakarta District Court, continues this week .

Evidence presented by prosecutors, along with details from sources close to the investigation, indicate that Gigih’s travel agency was a front for other illicit activities traced to Bahrun.

They include helping to arrange for militants to travel to the Middle East to join ISIS, or to Poso, Central Sulawesi, to link up with the East Indonesia Mujahideen terrorists.

Last week, a police source told The Sunday Times that Gigih allegedly helped two Uighurs from a Muslim separatist group in Xinjiang, China, escape from Malaysia to Indonesia. One of them was nabbed last year in Bekasi in West Java with plans to mount a suicide bombing.

These activities were allegedly funded by Bahrun, whom the US had placed on a terrorist watch list two weeks ago.

According to the US Treasury Department, Bahrun has transferred nearly US$72,000 (S$100,600) “to an associate in Indonesia, purportedly to conduct attacks on his instructions”.

The US authorities did not identify the associate, but prosecutors in Jakarta said a bank account used by some Indonesian militants with ties to ISIS was found in Gigih’s name.

Money drawn from the same account also funded terror plots in Indonesia, added the prosecutors.

According to Indonesia’s anti- money laundering agency PPATK, fund transfers into the country allegedly linked to terrorism amounted to more than 10 billion rupiah in 2014 and 2015.

General Alius confirmed that terrorists have been using virtual payment gateways such as PayPal and bitcoin cryptocurrency to move money across borders. He spoke last Wednesday after the BNPT and PPATK signed a pact to trace and block fund transfers to terrorists.

“The use of Paypal and bitcoin is high-tech, therefore we need a breakthrough to detect and prevent the flow of funds (to terrorists),” he said.

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/

May 22, 2017