Defense Minister Points out Threatening Caliphate War of Mindset

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said that the war of mindset is presently happening in Indonesia. He stressed the consequences if both people and the government did not take actions against the problem.

“The most critical one is the threat against Indonesian mindset, that attempting to convert the country’s ideology,” said Ryamizard in a symposium concerning the war of mindset in the information era in his Ministry, Central Jakarta, Wednesday, May 8.

Ryamizard explained that the threat was massive and structured, and at present, the most threat appear and spread among the society was caliphate ideology that led to radical thoughts in the country.

“This caliphate threat is obviously intending to replace the country’s ideology, Pancasila,” said Ryamizard.

Read: Five Big Terrorist Groups Threaten Indonesia, Analyst Says

This, he added, was seen from the bomb terror in Surabaya and Sri Lanka. Perpetrators involved their close family members and invited them to participate in their deadly acts.

Ryamizard asserted that such ideology was far from Islamic values taught up to these days. “The real Islam of Indonesia is fully packed with peace and highly upholds the sense of union, nationalism, and tolerance,” he remarked.

A terrorism expert from Sri Lanka, Rohan Gunaratna, shared the same statement that such war of mindset was truly alarming. He said that almost all groups having anti-Pancasila ideology did not conduct violent acts.

“Only one percent of them committed violence, and the other 99 percent formed the mindset,” Ronan explained, adding that the ideology was spread through social media.

Therefore, he suggested Indonesia have tighter monitoring towards cyberspace. He also appreciated the Bela Negara or state defense program repeatedly echoed by Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. “The best defense is nationalism,” Rohan concluded.

EGI ADYATAMA