Despite aggressive counterterrorism efforts, Sulawesi still plays an important role for JI as a venue for key fundraising, membership training, and preaching.
The looming parole of Umar Patek is a reminder of Indonesia’s battle against terrorists bent on transforming the Muslim-majority nation into an Islamic state.
When an Indonesian politician, several civil servants and a senior Muslim cleric were in 2020 arrested for alleged ties to the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah group, Indonesians were shocked. It revealed how some alleged members of the militant group, which carried out the 2002 Bali bombings, were entrenched in influential positions. But Ahmad Nurwakhid, a deputy official for terrorism prevention.