REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Islamic boarding schools (Pesantren) scattered across various areas in the country are not associated with radicalism, particularly acts of terror, an official affirmed.
"It is not true that Pesantren are associated with radicalism, particularly acts of terror," Vice Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly Hidayat Nur Wahid stated here on Monday.
Wahid remarked that Pesantren promoted nationalism and rejected communism.
"During the war, Islamic students and clerics fought against invaders in order to gain Indonesian independence," he pointed out.
After Indonesia became independent, he noted that leaders of Pesantren carried out extraordinary activities in the education sector.
Taking into account such facts, Wahid stated that Pesantren should be respected and invited to create a Muslim generation that could develop the nation.
"If the government honors Pesantren, it can improve the quality of Indonesian human resources," Wahid affirmed.
Earlier, Densus 88, the National Police's counterterrorism unit, had arrested 19 people in the wake of the January 14 terror attack in Jakarta.
"Nineteen people were arrested. Of them, eighteen have been detained, and one was set free due to lack of sufficient evidence, National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti stated at the National Police Headquarters here on Friday night.
Haiti remarked that six of the 18 people are believed to have had links to the terror attack that occurred in Thamrin Street in Central Jakarta on January 14.
The six people were identified by their initials as DS alias YY alias IA alias DD, AA alias AI alias AM alias AIS, C alias D alias AS, J alias JJ, AM alias LL alias AL, and A alias AZ alias AB.
Haiti stated that the gas cylinder used to make the bomb was believed to have been bought by DS, while AS allegedly procured the firearms.
Both C and J are believed to have had the expertise in making the bomb.
The police have also arrested another group of six people, charged with possessing illegal firearms. They also played a role in supporting the Santoso-led East Indonesia Mujahidin terrorist network.
The six people were identified by their initials as AF alias H alias AJ alias JT alias M, SF alias C alias MM alias DA, S alias STM alias A alias GD alias I alias P alias SB, B alias AM alias BB, WFB alias U alias AU alias AA, and MFS alias F.
At least eight people were killed and 20 others were left injured in the terror attacks orchestrated in Jakarta.
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