http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,95932,00.html
If not for family and love and reading
I might have become a terrorist
By Jion Arul
October 15, 2005
HIS idea of 'field research' is a trip to Ambon where hundreds have died
from religious violence.
On 3 Sep, he made the news when he and fellow terrorism researcher Rohan
Gunaratna, were temporarily detained in Indonesia for visa problems. They were
doing research in Ambon.
That's a typical field research day for spiky-haired Noor Huda.
The 32-year-old last week wrote a piece for The New Paper on Sunday
describing his classmates, some of whom have become terrorists.
He has also been speaking to relatives and friends of suicide bombers, a
new phenomenon in South-east Asia. He's worried about the trend. (See other
report.)
STUDENTS' LIFE
Mr Noor Huda is a graduate of what he dubbed the Jemaah Islamiyah 'Ivy
League'.
That's the Pesantren Al Mukmin in Ngruki in Solo, Indonesia.
The school was set up by Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir, the emir
of JI. The New Paper spent four days at the school in December 2003.
The report, which detailed the students' life, won SPH newspapers Feature
of the Year.
Mr Noor Huda was a student there from 1985 to 1990.
Though considered by many Western countries as a major training ground
for members of the JI, Mr Noor Huda, like most other students, turned out
differently.
He became a journalist and a visiting analyst at the Institute of Defence
and Strategic Studies, and is now at St Andrew's University in Scotland.
MISPLACED LOYALTY
Mr Noor Huda said the teachers in Ngruki were a heavy influence on the
students.
Although Abu Bakar Bashir was no longer with the school by the time he
joined, his influence was still felt among the teachers.
Mr Noor Huda said: 'In an Arabic thesis, which became one of the
compulsory texts, he wrote about loyalties and disloyalties, or alliances or
non-alliances, we were supposed to follow.
'No specific parties were named, but it stated that we were supposed to
be loyal to anyone struggling in the name of God and upholding the values of
Islam, and disloyal to anyone opposing them.'
The teachers had strict rules and Western-style dress was not allowed.
He said: 'Most of the students were aged 12 to 18... in most schools in
Indonesia, we were trained to memorise things rather than to think analytically
and critically.
'To respect the teachers was compulsory and it was basic to the teaching
in almost every pesantren (religious school) in Indonesia.'
He said if not for his love for reading, his family and friends and his
home environment, he might have turned out like his room-mate Mubarok, alias
Fadlullah Hasan.
Mubarok is now in jail for his role in the October 2002 Bali bombing.
He said: 'My father encouraged me to read a wide variety of books. I have
read many books, on subjects like Jesus as an organiser to liberation theology
and the Mahabharata.'
His work experience after he left school also helped broaden his horizons
by meeting different people.
He also did not think the religious school teachers intentionally
distorted the teachings of the Quran, but taught as they did mainly because of
their narrow-minded attitudes.
STRUGGLE
Mr Noor Huda hopes to meet militant Islamic leaders in the UK and thinks
his experiences can help build bridges when he finds out what motivates them.
Since Abu Bakar Bashir's arrest and imprisonment, he said the Indonesian
government had revised the curricula of many madrasahs there and had put many
of them under surveillance.
He said: 'But the teachers need to be trained too, especially in critical
thinking.
'Islam is in a dangerous position because some of its followers do not
want to negotiate or compromise, but want nothing short of complete victory for
their beliefs.'
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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