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Indonesian friends some of who I called Ustaz [teacher]. 22
In an effort to seek additional funding for their cause, Sungkar and Ba’asyir went
to Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and possibly Afghanistan. This opened the gateway
for DI members to gain further military training and exposure to armed jihad.
After a dispute with the Indonesian-based DI leader, Ajengan Masduki, Sungkar
formed JI in Malaysia on 1 January 1993. By 1995, Sungkar’s followers had
formed numerous cells consisting of eight-to-ten members who met on a weekly
basis to study the Qur’an and prepare for jihad. 23 JI was a more tightly structured
organization than DI, but had the same aim of establishing an Islamic state in
Indonesia through jihad. Only after JI came into contact with al-Qa’ida did its
ambition grow to aspire to a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
To train the next generation of jihadists, JI established its own schools in
Malaysia, including Madrasah Luqmanul Hakiem in Kelantan and in Ulu Tiram,
Johor. In addition to physical training, JI dispatched its members to training
camps run by al-Qa’ida, most notably Al Farouq, as well as JI camps in
Afghanistan and the Philippines, and MILF camps in the Philippines. JI also
established a cell in Karachi, the al Ghuraba cell, to train the brothers and sons of
JI leaders and members. Hambali, the JI operational leader facilitated regional
cooperation through the founding of Rabitatul Mujahidin, a platform through
which Southeast Asian jihadist groups could collaborate.
Claiming to be an Islamic revival movement, JI prepared a code of conduct to
guide its members. A secret text, the General Guide for Al-Jamaah Al-Islamiyah
Struggle (Pedoman Umum Perjuangan Al-Jamaah Al-Islamiyah, or PUPJI), was
never published but was made available to the leaders to train the members. In
the introduction, the Central Leadership Council of JI wrote that God has
outlined a set of principles for mankind to lead their lives. First, the aim of man’s
creation is to worship Allah alone. Consequently all worldly possessions, time,
energy, and thought must be channeled towards this end. Second, the full
purpose of human existence on earth is to serve as God’s vice-gerent. In this
respect, man is responsible for ensuring that the earth is managed and developed
within the confine of God’s laws. He thus is required to prevent, eliminate, and
fight all acts of corruption on earth as a result of the implementation of a way of
life that falls outside the domain of God’s law. Third, life on earth is a test to filter
and sieve members of the human race in order to determine who has performed
22
Nasir Abas, Membongkar Jamaah Islamiyah: Pengakuan Mantan Anggota JI (Unveiling Jamaah
Islamiyah: Confessions of an Ex- JI Member) (Jakarta: Grafindo Khazanah Ilmu, 2005, English
translation), 18-19, 28.
23
Members of his first small cell included Riduan Isamuddin (alias Hambal)i, Abdul Ghani,
Jamsari, Suhauime, Matsah, Adnan, and Faiz Bafana.
20