Political and Community Responses
Conspiracy theories similar to those around the September 11 attacks appeared in the Indonesian media blaming the Bali bombings on a Western-Jewish-Chinese-Masonic plot to discredit Islam. Used to a culture of rumour and violence under the "New Order", many Indonesians considered such theories credible. Subsequent bombings in the centre of Jakarta, in which all but one victim were ordinary Indonesians, shocked the public and brought swift responses from the Indonesian security forces. Even the most reluctant politicians had to admit that the evidence was against a small group of Islamist agitators. The Jakarta bombings and legal prosecutions helped shift public opinion away from the use of extremist Islamic political violence, but also increased the influence of intelligence bodies, the police and military whose strength had diminished since 1998.
Political factors clouded Indonesian responses to the "War on Terror"; politicians were at pains not to be seen to be bowing to US and Australian opinion, and the term "Jemaah Islamiyah" is controversial in Indonesia as it means "Islamic community/congregation", and was also the subject of previous "New Order" manipulation of the term.
Read more about this topic: Terrorism In Indonesia
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