The Bali Bombings: a broader perspective

SOME 184 million people or 87 per cent of Indonesia’s total population claim to be Muslim.

Since the events of the recent bombings in Bali and September 11, Indonesia has come under severe scrutiny but not simply because it is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Despite allegations by George W. Bush and other US officials, Indonesia always denied that it harboured any radical organisations of terrorist intent. It is often pointed out that Islam in Indonesia is overwhelmingly moderate and tolerant.

In fact most Islamic parties support the country’s neutral philosophical principles of Pancasila and reject calls for Indonesia to become an Islamic state.

What tends to be less commonly highlighted is that Indonesia also has a long history of violence perpetrated in the name of Islam by small militant groups.

An example of this was the emergence of the Laskar Jihad in 2000 which sent thousands of Muslim militants to Eastern Indonesia to fight against alleged Christian separatists. Or even the Darul Islam movement which rose up in rebellion against the Indonesian Republic in 1948 and established an Islamic state.

Investigations are currently underway to determine those responsible for the bombings- whether they be local or foreign, al-Qaeda or a similar group.

Naturally the media have concentrated on reporting the bombings as potentially an attack by Muslim extremists on Western targets, but the bombings were also firstly an attack on Bali and the economic rights of Indonesians.

In effect the bombings in Bali and Sulawesi have destroyed Indonesia’s key tourism industry which is Indonesia’s fourth largest source of income.

There is also the immediate economic impact on Indonesians with anticipated higher inflation and interest rates which will affect small businesses and the poor.

In light of an already fluctuating economy and the already weak authority of the government, the bombings in Bali could thus be seen as a calculated attack to capitalise upon Indonesia’s fragility and radicalise a large Muslim country.

Kathleen Turner is a PhD candidate at the Asia Research Centre focusing on ethnic conflict in the Moluccas in Eastern Indonesia.