TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - It's not easy to stem the flow of Indonesians sneaking into Syria and Iraq. The number of people enlisting with the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) militias and related groups in those two countries continues to grow. In August last year, the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) counted 56 persons leaving to join ISIS, but today the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) disclosed a far bigger number of departures last March: 514 Indonesians.
The rapidly rising 'popularity' of the organization led by Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi is truly a mystery. Many have been lured by the ideology of this Al-Qaeda breakaway group of restoring the past glory of Islam and establishing an Islamic caliphate. This is really nothing new, but what makes the call credible is that ISIS does control parts of Iraq and Syria.
Upholding sharia in the 'Promised Land' is what drives ISIS followers to fight a war not in their own country. This is one reason given by some members of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) in Indonesia on why they decided to cross-over to ISIS. Interestingly the JI is known as the organization supporting Al-Qaeda, a foe of ISIS. In fact, the police confirm that some terrorist networks wanted by the police in a number of areas have become ISIS followers.
But this multi-nation exodus cannot be attributed merely to a dream of establishing an Islamic caliphate. It would not be wrong to assume that many joined because of the attractions offered by ISIS recruiters, and that is lucrative wages amounting to hundreds of millions of rupiah.
The offer of a 'five-star' jihad can be found in their websites. In 2013, for example, some 2,650 sites expounding terrorist propaganda were traced. One year later, those propaganda sites increased threefold. One site seemingly designed to attract families, featured pictures of children from Indonesia under the age of 15, showing them being trained to shoot guns. The site said that the children received free schooling while their mothers worked at communal kitchens, earning decent wages.
Funding does not seem to be a problem to ISIS. In November 2014, the United Nations released a report revealing that this organization acquired amounts between US$850,000 and US$1.65 million per day, from selling the oil from oil fields ISIS managed to capture and control in Iraq and Syria. Back in Indonesia, we can assume that the recruiters, who may also be the donors, pay for the cost of their followers' departure.
The police have arrested some of these ISIS recruiters and donors around the Jakarta area, in Banten, West Java and in East Java. Law enforcement authorities have also caught people who uploaded ISIS propaganda videos to the internet. But they still face difficulties in making the arrests stick, given the absence of proper laws with which to take legal action against them.
We have Law No. 15/2003 on the Elimination of Terrorism, but it is good only for post-terrorist acts, like bombings, shootings, murders or threats that cause general public disorder. Clearly, this law cannot be applied to people who declare themselves to be ISIS followers but who have not done anything concrete linked to terrorism.
For example, the law can be applied to the bombing of a mall in Depok, West Java sometime ago. The perpetrator was found to have used chlorine gas to make a bomb known to be the signature explosive of ISIS fighters. Most likely, the bomber was someone who had just returned from Syria or Iraq.
Law No. 12/2006 on Indonesian Citizenship is also problematic. Accordingly, an Indonesian can lose his or her citizenship if the person voluntarily joins the armed forces of another country. But ISIS is not a state or a nation. The United Nations describes it as an organized group committing war and crimes against humanity.
With such limited legal tools, the government must quickly act to protect its citizens. It can issue regulations in lieu of law-which takes longer to enact-or revise the law on the eradication of terrorism. The first option is clearly faster and makes sense, but while taking time to act on the side of caution, a regulation should be issued soon to prevent more Indonesians from joining ISIS.
Too many young people, even mothers carrying children, have crossed over to the organization which considers everyone except themselves, as kafirs or unbelievers. There would be no problem if the Indonesian ISIS fans decided to settle in Syria or Iraq. But if they do return-like previous veterans of the past Afghan War-they may well bring with them the know-how and experience of sowing seeds of violence in the country. (*)
Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine