Laskar Jihad - Ideology

Ideology

Laskar Jihad leader Jafar Umar Thalib has voiced public support for the establishment of an Islamic theocracy in Indonesia. Members of his group have called for the introduction of the Sharia. They also resented the 2001 appointment of Megawati Sukarnoputri as President of Indonesia, stating that the appointment of a female president was a sin. In Laskar Jihad camps, women are required to wear burqas, and television is banned.

Thalib has met with Osama bin Laden, but allegedly turned down offers of funding support because of doubts about bin Laden's piety. However, other members of his militia have accepted al-Qaeda support. Thalib, when asked by Jessica Stern whether he promotes Wahhabism in Indonesia, tried to distance himself from Wahhabism, stating that its literature would relie too heavily on weak hadith "that may not be the word of Allah." However, scholars have noted that fatwas issued by Salafi muftis from the Arab Peninsula played a significant role in the formation of Laskar Jihad. It has also been argued that Thalib's efforts to distance himself from al-Qaeda and anything related to it were made in the context of the September 11 terror attacks when the Indonesian government exerted strong pressure on Laskar Jihad not to exploit anti-American sentiment.

For its violent campaign in Maluku, Laskar Jihad put forward two reasons: first, the defence of fellow Muslims; and second, the fight against separatism. To justify the latter cause, Laskar Jihad even alleged a Zionist-Christian conspiracy trying to undermine the national unity of Indonesia.