Women's Involvement with Radical Islamic Groups in Indonesia

The world was stunned when a Muslim woman, Dian Yulia Novi, was arrested prior to carrying out a suicide bomb attack in Indonesia. She was previously a migrant worker in Singapore and she was also the wife of Bahrun Naim, the person responsible for the Sarinah bomb attack. The plan was that on December 11, 2016, she would detonate a pressure cooker bomb at the State Palace, but was arrested by the police before she could carry out the plan. This tragedy uncovered the fact that a number of Muslim women were involved in radical Islamic groups and terrorist movements in Indonesia.

Apparently the most recent trend in terrorism is to turn women into perpetrators. If terrorist acts in the past had a masculine face and used a patriarchic approach, recent trends of terror use women as executors using a feminine approach. Although the women are executors, they are actually the victims. They are victims who, because of their ignorance, are being exploited by those with systematic plans for terrorism.

Some factors have been suspected as the cause for women being involved in terrorism. Among those factors are social relationship and friendship, feeling alienated and marginalized, frustration and revenge, but radical ideology becomes the key aspect when they are already amidst terrorist groups. A number of studies conducted have revealed that the women who were recruited into the network are indoctrinated all the time with radical Islamist views.

Every time they are rammed with narrations of an oppressed Islam, with the romantic glory of Islam during the khilafah era. And of the obligation to establish a khilafah or Islamic state which would liberate them from injustice and poverty. They are also indoctrinated with tales of courageous women in the history of Islam. Not to mention the obligation to establish Islam shariah and the importance of eliminating democracy and a Pancasila state that they always consider as thagut (enemy of Islam).

Why women? Discussions on issues of feminism reveal that women can be most relied on in terms of loyalty and obedience. They are a group of people who would easily believe anything related to religion. Women see religion as a good friend although religion is often unfriendly towards them. And the most convincing factor is that women can be bastions when it comes to defending their family from any unwanted threats.

Who are the women frequently involved in terrorist movements in Indonesia? A study conducted by the Prasasti Perdamaian Foundation reveals that women who are involved in radical Islamist movements in Indonesia are wives and family members of terrorists who were involved in bombing attacks in Indonesia, wives and family members of jihadists in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. Usually their husbands or relatives are members of the Jamaah Islamiyah, Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, the Islamic State of Indonesia, ISIS, Salafi Jihadists and other radical Islamic organizations.

It is interesting to note that they are generally not stupid or uneducated women. Many of them are graduates from university, the rest graduated from Islamic Boarding Schools and High School. And in terms of economy, they do not always come from impoverished groups. They are usually from middle income families. They have a variety of professions, such as lecturer, teacher, mubaligh, ustadah, dentist, entrepreneur, employee, activists in organizations, traders (selling kebab, herbal products, and others), store assistants, and factory workers.

The main motivation for women involved in this movement is theological. Initially, they were exposed to a radical understanding of Islam, such as the obligation to kill all kaffirs (non-Muslims). They firmly believe the obligation to establish an Islamic state through jihad thus eliminating injustice. Women must join in the jihad movement in defense of an oppressed Islam.

Some of them are recruited through marriage, with their own husband carrying out a systematic effort to instill a radical ideology through “brain-washing”. This means that they are purposely wedded to then instill radical ideas in their minds. Their marriage progresses normally, but quite a number of them get married in jail. Others are wedded after they have received radical indoctrination. Quite a few of them received massive indoctrination from a close friend of their husband or from other women who were active in the network before them.

It is interesting to note that many of the women recruited into terrorist movements are migrant workers. Why? Because they generally have their own money, are independent and daring, and the the most important thing is that they are used to travelling abroad. They are also active users of social media and the internet. Some of them were exposed to radical ideology through the internet while they were working overseas. They usually meet their husband-to-be and their group through social media.

Not all of the women are aware that their husbands are involved in terrorist movements. Some are even disappointed because they felt they had been lied to by their husbands. “I really did not suspect that my husband was connected to a terrorist group. I thought all along that he was very active in his work at the office,” bemoaned a wife of a terrorist. In our efforts to advocate for them, this group of wives is not difficult to convince and can easily be asked to cooperate to sever the chain of radicalism.

When the husbands were asked about not being open to their wives, some of the answers given were: “We are taking care of covert duties, and if we tell our wives, it will no longer be a secret.” Some of them even answered with a cynical expression: “well, if the wife knows then there will be chaos, women find it hard to keep their mouths shut, that’s how women are.” Some others answered “we purposely did not involve our wives so that if we were to to be apprehended, the children and family would still be protected.” 

The tasks and roles of women in radicalism movements are quite varied and significant. Among others, they carry out the role as educators and trainers, agents of change, adept (Muslim) preachers, solicit and collect funds. Quite a number of them are assigned to recruit potential young women from all sort of communities. Others carry out roles as logistics managers, inter-city couriers, and even travel between countries carrying secret messages. Yet some others become “brides” (suicide bombers) to blow up suicide bombs.

Women involved in radicalism movements are executors of terrorist acts as well as victims. They are victims of their husband’s or family’s ideologies, victims of religious indoctrination, victims of stigmatization from society, victims of the media, and also victims of the excesses of conflicts. Again and again, women are only the victims of a condition created by the powers of a patriarchic environment.

The role of women in deradicalization efforts

I am very sure that women can be the agents of disengagement. If they can be recruited as terrorists, it should be easier to encourage them to be agents of peace. A comprehensive strategy and a gentle and humane yet targeted approach will be effective for those already involved in terrorism. An approach stemming from militaristic power based on the principle of security should be reviewed.

The most important thing is a strong political will from the government to eliminate the roots of terrorism, such as social inequality and injustice that are already present in society. In addition, it is very important for all elements within Islam to promote the teachings of Islam that uphold values of humanity, justice, equality, tolerance and peace. The essence of Islam is to humanize human beings and establish a fair and civilized society.

It is our conviction that there is no easy or single way to sever the chains of radicalism. We compel the government to overcome the structural problem that causes the various social inequality and injustice. At the same time, the government should improve and accelerate economic growth that would be a very important instrument for a significant improvement of the welfare of the people. This is because a slow economic growth, low income of the people, high poverty and unemployment rate, not to mention poor quality of education would have a dire impact on the lives of the people. These unfavorable conditions would have a direct correlation with rampant radicalism and acts of violence in society.

Muslim women groups under the ICRP (Indonesia Conference on Religions for Peace) are seriously appealing to the state to effectively respond to terrorist acts and pursue the perpetrators using a responsible and measured security approach.  Therefore, the logical choice for a strategy to respond to radicalism is to try and “empower” those who were previously involved in acts of terror through advocacy programs under the agenda of economy, social, politics and religion.

I am certain that economic advocacy programs combined with legal and social advocacy programs and deradicalization of ideology will be a very effective weapon to cut off the chain of radicalism and terrorism.

In addition to advocacy in the economic sector, Muslim women groups are continuously endeavoring to uphold values of diversity and the principle of pluralism in all aspects of development, including in religious affair. As a principle of respecting diversity and unity in diversity, the principle of pluralism is the back bone of democracy and civil society. A democratic culture and social structure will not prevail without the essence of pluralism.