Jemaah Islamiyah is a network of Islamic extremists based in Southeast Asia. Its name means Islamic Community in Arabic. Jemaah Islamiyah, or JI, reportedly began in Malaysia in 1993 under the leadership of two Indonesians, Abdullah Sungkar and Abu Bakar Ba`asyir (also spelled Bashir). The men had fled to Malaysia in 1985 to avoid arrest for their opposition to the Indonesia government. Since 1999, JI has been responsible for a number of violent attacks across Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. In 2002, JI bombed two nightclubs in Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 people.
Jemaah Islamiyah—like many extremist religious movements—believes that all social, political, and economic problems are caused by immorality and religious failings. It seeks to replace existing governments with a strict theocracy (religious rule) based on the Sharī`a (Islamic law). The Islamic state that JI wants to create would include all of Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and parts of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines. Members of JI are taught to believe that they must either live in an Islamic state or fight to achieve it, even if it requires death as a martyr (one who dies for religious beliefs).
As with al-Qa`ida, the roots of JI can be traced to the mujahideen, the Muslim resistance fighters who opposed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The resistance—which grew strong after being secretly funded and organized by the United States, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia—lasted from 1979 to 1989. Many men associated with JI went to Afghanistan to join the mujahideen or trained there after the Soviets left. These men include many of JI’s top leaders and bombers.
Abdullah Sungkar died in Indonesia in 1999. Abu Bakar Ba`asyir reportedly replaced him as JI’s amir (spiritual leader). In 2002, after the Bali nightclub attack, Indonesian officials arrested Ba`asyir, but he was released in 2006. Riduan Isamuddin, also called Hambali, was reportedly the field commander and chief strategist for JI’s bombing attacks. In 2003, Thai police captured Hambali and handed him over to U.S. forces, who imprisoned him in a secret location. Ba`asyir was again arrested in 2010. In 2011, he was found guilty of helping support a terrorist training camp and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Many other JI leaders and members have been captured or killed.
