Who Is Abu Bakr Ba'asyir, A Character Who Has Been In And Out Of Prison For Terrorism?

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, founder of the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school, Ngruki, Sukoharjo, Central Java is a hardline Islamic figure who insists on establishing an Islamic state. His aspiration to implement Islamic law in a kaffah manner has even reached the ears of the leader of the United States (US), George W. Bush. People who often stumble upon terrorism cases are considered by the US to have a network with the Al-Qaeda organization.

Ba'asyir, whose full name is Abu Bakar bin Abud Baamualim Ba'asyir was born on August 17, 1938 in Mojoagung, a small town that is included in Jombang Regency, East Java. His father and grandfather are originally from Hadramaut, Yemen, but have settled and become Indonesian citizens. Meanwhile, her mother is also of Arab descent, while her grandmother is a native Javanese.

Ba'asyir grew up in a religious environment. He was abandoned by his father around the age of ten. After the death of his father, Ba'asyir was raised by his mother with full religious values. His mother died in 1980 after receiving news that his son Ba'asyir was in prison during the Suharto era.

Ba'asyir started his education at Pondok Modern Gontor, Ponorogo. After completing his school in Gontor, he continued his education at the University of Al-Irsyad Surakarta by majoring in Da'wah in 1963.

In 1971, Ba'asyir married Aisyah bint Abdurrahman Baraja, a student from Mu'allimat Al-Irsayad, Solo. As a result of this marriage, Ba'asyir had three children named Zulfa, Abdul, Rasyid, and Abdurrahim.

The journey of the Ba'asyir case

As explained by Praga Adidhatama in his writing entitled Islam and Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's State of Thought About the Islamic State (2009). Ba'asyir's dakwah debut was through the Radio Dakwa Islamiyah Surakarta (RADIS) channel. The radio received a big response from the public.

But RADIS was short-lived. This radio was considered to broadcast political preaching, so in 1975 it was banned by the New Order.

How could he not, at that time Ba'asyir criticized the Sole Principle of Pancasila, which according to him was enforced as the principle of mass and political organizations. He considered the government to be unfair and violate Islamic law.

From this discussion, the apparatus saw an attempt by the ulama to enter politics. And there are also attempts to "undermine" the legitimate powers of government.

Ba'asyir is a person who doesn't really think about the consequences of what he does. As a result, in 1982, he was arrested by the New Order regime for the first time because he was considered tough on the government.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir (Source: Antara)

He was arrested along with his relative Abdullah Sungkar. Ba'asyir was accused of inciting people to reject the single principle of Pancasila because according to him this single principle was only fabricated by Christians to destroy Islamic institutions.

In addition, he also opposed respect for the flag because he considered it envious. Abu Bakr Ba'asyir's teachings were later passed on to his students. Because of the first case of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, he was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison.

In his trial, Ba'asyir admitted that he had become a DI / TII follower. Apart from that, the court also accused Sungkar of being taken as the leader of Jama'ah Ansharullah in the Surakarta area, and Ba'asyir as being the Deputy Leader of Jamaah Ansharullah Surakarta.

Jamaah Ansarullah is also commonly referred to as Jama'ah Islamiyah. A name in the world spotlight, especially the United States and the United Nations.

Fled to Malaysia

In the midst of his sentence, Ba'asyir fled to Malaysia in 1985. Due to the attitude of the Malaysian government, which at that time protected all migrants, Ba'asyir was able to live in peace for 14 years until he was able to establish the Lukmanul Hakim Islamic Boarding School in Johor.

Until 2002, Ba'asyir with a recitation group which the Malaysian government named the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM), was called a Jamaah Islamiyah network. The KKM has been accused of training its santris to commit acts of anarchy such as the bombing of non-Muslim places of worship in Malaysia. They are also accused of wanting to establish a Pan-Islamic state in the Southeast Asian region.

Jemaah Islamiyah, as has been widely reported, aims to establish Islamic governance in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines through acts of violence. They are also said to have the position that the current state government is not Islamic and is led by infidels.

US highlighted

Because of his activities, the CIA noted that Ba'asyir had links to Al-Qaeda. In the same year, Time Magazine wrote a story calling Ba'asyir as the mastermind behind the explosion of the Istiqlal Mosque. TIME suspects that he is part of an international terrorism network operating in Indonesia.

TIME quoted from CIA documents that JI leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was "involved in various plots". This is according to the confession of Umar Al-Faruq, a 31-year-old Yemeni citizen who was arrested in Bogor and sent to an air base in US-occupied Bagram, Afghanistan.

Al-Faruq issued a confession to the CIA. Not only does he claim to be an Al-Qaeda operator in Southeast Asia, he claims to have close ties with Ba'asyir. According to various intelligence reports combined with the TIME magazine investigation, Ba'asyir is said to have aspired to form an Islamic state in Southeast Asia.

Ba'asyir considers the US to be behind his execution. In 2002, Ba'asyir held a press conference at Pondok Al-Islam, Solo. In the press conference, he said that the explosion incident in Bali was an attempt by the US to prove his accusation that Indonesia was a hotbed of terrorists.

In a bomb case

Then in 2004, finally Ba'asyir was arrested on charges of being involved in the 2002 Bali Bombings and the JW Marriot Hotel Bombings in 2003. He was found guilty but escaped legal arrest for the 2003 Bali Bombings II.

He was sentenced to 2.6 years in prison with a remission of 4 months and 15 days. So that in June 2006, Ba'asyir was free.

Four years free, Ba'asyir was again arrested by the police because he was suspected of being involved in funding armed groups in Aceh. In 2011, Ba'asyir was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court, after being found involved in financing terrorist training in Aceh and supporting terrorism in Indonesia.

Until 2019, the administration of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had wanted to release Ba'asyir for humanitarian reasons, and to reap the pros and cons. However, there are conditions that must be met.

According to Government Regulation (PP) No. 99/2012, to get conditional release, terrorism convicts must sign a statement acknowledging guilt and loyalty to the Republic of Indonesia. Ba'asyir has not signed the letter from the beginning until now.

After serving a sentence of 15 years minus a remission of 55 months, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir will now be completely free. He will be free from Gunung Sindur prison this week, to be precise Friday, January 8, 2021.

Profile of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir

Full name

Abu Bakr bin Abud Baamualim Ba'asyir

Nick name

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir

Place of birth

Mojoagung, Jombang, East Java

Date of birth

17 August 1938

Citizenship

Indonesia

Wife

Aisyah bint Abdurrahman Baraja

Child

Zulfa, Abdul, Rasyid, and Abdurrahim

Education

Pondok Pesantren Modern Gontor, Ponorogo

Department of Da'wah, Al-Irsyad University (1963)