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Militant Muslim bodies admit
receiving cash from Osama's terror network, but insist there were
no strings attached
By Devi
Asmarani
STRAITS TIMES INDONESIA BUREAU
JAKARTA - Several militant Muslim
groups in Indonesia have admitted receiving millions of dollars in
funds from Al-Qaeda, but said that there were 'no strings
attached'.
At least five radical outfits
interviewed by The Straits Times said that individuals within
their organisations had received money which was channelled to
them by 'intermediaries' - local and foreign - with contacts to
Osama bin Laden's terrorist outfit.
Millions of dollars are said to
have been given to these groups over the last five years, with
some continuing to receive money even after the Sept 11 attacks on
the United States.
Sources said that some of these
groups included the Islamic Defender's Front (FPI), Majelis
Mujahidin Council, the Islamic Youth Movement and Laskar Jihad.
One of the FPI leaders, Iqbal
Siregar, told The Straits Times: 'At the organisational level, we
do not accept anything from Al-Qaeda.
'But on a personal level, I do know
that several people have been offered money, although they would
not say openly that it is from Al-Qaeda. I don't think they would
be so stupid as to declare where the money came from.
'The money is given to help further
the religious cause in our country - and not to join the Al-Qaeda
network.'
Most groups here insisted that they
took the money because there were no conditions imposed.
Habib Rizik Shihab, the head of the
FPI, which is notorious for its violent attacks on entertainment
joints around the country, said: 'Its money is halal. It doesn't
try to interfere in our organisation's internal affairs - why
shouldn't we accept its money?
Well-placed sources said that
groups established more recently, such as the FPI, Laskar
Jundullah, Laskar Hizbullah and the Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia (MMI),
which is pushing for the imposition of Islamic law in Indonesia,
were among those in 'contact with Osama's people'.
The MMI is headed by Muslim
preacher Abu Bakar Bashir, allegedly one of the leaders of the
regional Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah network. He has denied
such links.
Another group, the Darul Islam,
claims to have accepted over 1.2 billion rupiah (S$230,000) from
Al-Qaeda last year, to fund anti-Christian operations in
Indonesia.
One of its leaders, Al Chaidar,
said it was given the money as the group had sent many of its
members to fight against the Russians in Afghanistan during the
1980s.
But the Laskar Jihad, which has
been sending its warriors to fight Christians in Maluku, said it
had rejected financial offers from Al-Qaeda since before Sept 11.
Said the group's spokesman Eko
Raharjo: 'We rejected it because Osama's understanding of Islam
contradicts ours. We don't support his calls for uprising against
legitimate governments - our backgrounds are different.'
But sources said that the
paramilitary group, whose leader Ja'far Umar Thalib fought with
the Afghan mujahidin in the late 1980s, had received over 200
million rupiah from militant outfits in several countries, includ-
ing Libya, Yemen, Saudia Arabia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Moderate Muslims said these groups
should not have accepted the money, even if it was to support
their cause, as it could get the country tangled in the terrorist
network's web.
'I am concerned that Indonesia will
become the next target in the terrorist network because of the
acts of several groups who are just looking for money,' said an
executive from the country's largest Muslim group, the Nahdlatul
Ulama.
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