October 15, 2002
Al-Qaida and Jemaah Islamiyah.
Many details on the connection between Al-Qaida (as the British spell it) and Jemaah Islamiyah, the group allegedly responsible for the nightclub bombing in Bali, in this
Guardian article:
"Al-Qaida provides the experts, training, and resources to Islamist political and military organisations towards a common goal: the creation of a caliphate or Islamic regime covering southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia and southern Philippines. ... Al-Qaida has infiltrated a dozen other Islamist militant groups in the region, from Kumpulan Mujahidin in Malaysia to the Mujahidin Council and Jashkar Jundullah in Indonesia. ...
"The group is divided into territorial organisations called mantiqis:
"The first mantiqi - or M1 - based in Malaysia, also covers Singapore, and southern Thailand;
"The second, M2, is based in Solo, central Java and covers the whole of Indonesia except for Sulawesi and Kalimantan;
"The third mantiqi, M3, was initially based in Maguindanao, southern Philippines, and also covers Borneo, including Brunei, the east Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, and Kalimantan and Sulawesi in Indonesia;
"The fourth, M4, covers the island of Irian Jaya or West Papua, and Australia."
Not exactly sure how much of this I really believe. I certainly don't think it's anywhere as cut and dried as this article seems to make it, nor do I believe that al-Qaida is that well structured and organized. Important to remember that while it may be convenient to report this as a single organization, in reality there are many, many groups, representing many different peoples with divergent views and goals. They may be allied in some ways, at some times, in some places, but certainly not everywhere.
And to suggest that all of these, apparently millions of people if this is as widespread as is claimed, are "evil", and that all those they attack are "good" is absurd and simplistic.
With the active help of the so-called "Western" powers, the Indonesian government has been terrorizing its citizens for decades. There are few places with a poorer human rights record, or more government-sponsored terrorism than Indonesia. If it was a "communist" country like China it would be widely reported. But because it gives free reign to capitalism, it's simply ignored. Same old story.
