Lack of Social Harmony Leads to ISIS Emergence: Minister

Mataram, W Nusa Tenggara (Antara Bali) - Active roles of the government and the public are crucial in tackling the ISIS problem because the radical group was born due to lack of social harmony, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has said.

"We cannot just rely on religious preachers in mosques or boarding schools. Each of us has to play an active role in handling this," Religious Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said here, Wednesday.

The ideology of the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is accepted in the community where there is a gap of social welfare. They tended to take a short cut to look for prosperity in the afterlife in the wrong way, she said.

"They might think that it is impossible for them to get welfare in the world, so they decided to join jihad to gain welfare in the afterlife, because if they die while doing jihad, they believe they will go straight to heaven. In fact, it is the wrong way because it harms other people and damages public facilities," she stated.

"What the ISIS has done is indignity because it causes destruction in the public and our duty is to build and promote social harmony in the community," she noted
Meanwhile, Presidium Chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectual Association (ICMI) Nanat Fatah Natsir has said Indonesia would be free from the influence of ISIS if the state is able to serve justice and provide prosperity for every citizen.

"I suspect that some Indonesians join the ISIS because of economic and ideological factors. If Indonesia is prosperous and able to serve justice, no one would be interested in joining the ISIS," Nanat Fatah Natsir said in Jakarta, Wednesday.

The former rector of Islamic State University (UIN) of Bandung suspected that the Indonesian citizens joined the ISIS because they were promised jobs with high salaries.

Of course, they would be interested because it is difficult to get jobs in Indonesia, he noted.

Some Indonesians joined the ISIS because they failed to receive justice in Indonesia, he added. Besides, they were attracted by the ISIS because it fights against Shiites in Iraq and Syria.

"The Sunni-Shiite issue has attracted radical groups to join them. The government must prevent and eradicate such radicalism," he said.

He urged the government to issue a government regulation in lieu of the law on the prevention and eradication of radicalism to anticipate the spreading of radical ideology.
Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno recently said some 514 Indonesians were believed to have join the ISIS. (WDY)