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Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation creating waves in Indonesia

The Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation is creating waves in Indonesia, and is the subject of inquiry of the many political leaders and public intellectuals I met during the four-day visit to Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

This is the third overseas visit by DAP leaders to learn and update on the latest political developments with regard to Islam and democracy, particularly in Moslem-majority nations.

The countries first visited were Jordan and Egypt in April last year, followed by visits to Tunisia and Turkey last October. Continue reading “Mahathir-Anwar reconciliation creating waves in Indonesia”

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The rise of Aman Abdurrahman, IS master ideologue

Rendi A. Witular
The Jakarta Post
January 25 2016

Unlike his contemporaries, cleric and terrorist convict Aman Abdurrahman has never seen war. He never fights along his fellow jihadists in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria or in any domestic sectarian conflict.

But Aman’€™s preaching is so contagious that Abu Bakar Ba’€™asyir, the elder statesman of the regional terrorism network, has succumbed to his doctrine and authority.

Aman’€™s notoriety was recently extended with the alleged involvement of his followers in an attack targeting police and foreigners in a Central Jakarta district packed with shopping centers, embassies, the UN headquarters and government offices on Jan. 14. The attack killed four civilians and four perpetrators. Continue reading “The rise of Aman Abdurrahman, IS master ideologue”