By Brittin Ward and Robert Carle
On May 13th 2018, three bombs were detonated within minutes of each other in three different churches in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city. The bombers, a couple and their four children, were all killed in the explosions. The following day, on May 14th, a family of five rode two motorcycles into the police headquarters in Surabaya and detonated two more bombs, killing 10. A total of twenty-seven people died in these attacks. Fifty were injured.
“With the Surabaya bombing, we have stepped into a new stage of terrorism…with families and parents sacrificing their children,” said Dr. Halim Mahfudz, who directs a pesantren in Jombang.
With the surge of violent Islamic extremists in the last 30 years, Indonesia Muslims have been confronted with the challenge of stopping the spread of terror. One of the best resources they have is a citizens’ para-military group within the organization known as the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).
The Nahdlatul Ulama, established in 1926, is the largest Muslim organization in the world, with upwards of 60 million members. The NU is rooted in tasawwuf, a form of Islamic Sufi spirituality. It was initially founded to oppose Dutch colonization and to advocate for Sufis within the ummah following the Saudi Muslim ban on Sufi Muslims from participating in the hajj. More recently the NU has sought to heal the divisions between modernist and traditionalist Islamic groups in Indonesia.
In wake of the Surabaya bombings, the NU has deployed its own security forces to protect Christian churches and to protect Indonesian citizens of all faiths from jihadi terrorists. These protection forces are known the Banser. The director of the Banser in Jombang describes the Banser as a militant citizens organization Indonesia that symbolizes the good relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims in Indonesia. The youth wing of the NU, the Ansor, directs the Banser.
The head of the Ansor in Jombang, Zulfikar Damam Ikhwanto, explains that part of the organization’s mission involves the protection of all humanity. As such, the Ansor has a constant “inter-faith dialogue” with other religions; they communicate with other faiths to know when and where the Banser will be needed. For example, one of the busiest seasons of the year for the Banser is Christmas: there are a lot of Christian events and church services that need protection. Every year the Ansor and Banser dutifully send their forces to religious services of all types to deter anyone from taking hostile actions and to maintain peace. Mr. Zulfikar said, “We care about the fate of mankind, regardless of tribe and class,”
The Banser of the NU was established in the 1960s when government intelligence surfaced that communists in Indonesia were targeting the Ulama (Muslim religious leaders). The Banser assisted the police and military in finding and killing people they suspected of being communists. For the Banser, it was necessary to strike first before being killed. Human rights groups, however, criticized these killings as extra-judicial executions.
In Indonesia, there are more Banser than police and military
The Banser and Ansor uphold four main pillars as part of their creed: religious commitment, youth commitment, society commitment, and national commitment. The Banser is a Muslim institution, but is also committed to the wellbeing of the people of Indonesia. The Banser also provides an institution for young men to learn discipline, service, and respect. The minimum age of a Banser is 18 years old. The Banser also work to protect the Pancasila of Indonesia (the foundational philosophical principles of the Indonesian republic—belief in one god, civilized humanity, unity of Indonesia, democracy, and social justice for all Indonesians).
In Indonesia, there are more Banser than police and military combined. Though not allowed to carry guns, Banser carry clubs and are highly trained in martial arts to assist the police in the protection of citizens. They do not act on their own; they always contact the police first and collaborate with the government. But they are always ready to help. There are over 6,000 Banser in Jombang alone. In Indonesia, there are 10 million members of the Ansor and upwards of two million Banser.
The banser help the police with traffic, firefighting, maritime defense, and disaster relief. The Banser also have anti-terrorism units. One of the most venerated Banser in NU’s history is a 25-year-old man named Riyanto, who saved a Christian congregation from a terrorist attack on Christmas Eve, 2000. While he was checking under the pews before the beginning of the service, Riyoto found a bomb. He took it outside and covered the bomb with his body just before it exploded. His sacrifice is commemorated in the NU’s museum in Surabaya, which houses the torn, bloody shirt that Riyanto wore the night of his martyrdom. A street in Mojokerto is named after Riyanto, and a shrine was built in his memory.
A remarkable aspect of the Ansor and Banser is that they are all volunteers—they receive no payment for their services. They will say, according to Mr. Zulfikar that they don’t want their reward from people; they will get their reward from God.
In the Christian village of Mojokerto, thousands of Christians came together to hold their annual harvest festival the day following the Surabaya attacks. Additionally, despite warnings against large public gatherings from the government, Christians and Muslims organized candlelight vigils throughout Indonesia to commemorate the victims of the Surabaya bombings. At these candlelight services and festivals, the Banser were present, providing anti-terrorism protection.
The principal of the Pesantren in Lirboyo, Gus Reza, cited the NU and its security forces as key to combatting terrorism in Indonesia. Mr. Reza said that the NU devotes itself to protecting other faiths “because they are our brothers. They are our Christian brothers. We are all Indonesian.” This sentiment was shared by Mr. Zulfikar in the Jombang branch of the Ansor.
The Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organizations in Indonesia, with a more modernist focus than the NU, have a similar security force, the Pokar.
Dr. Dicky Sofjan, a doctoral faculty member at the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies (ICRS) in Yogyakarta, is hesitant to endorse paramilitary organizations because they could lead to a militarization of Indonesian culture. Yet, Dr. Sofjan concedes that in the wake of terror attacks, having organizations like the Banser and the Pokar are good for promoting peace across religions and “good for protecting the churches during Christmas”.
"The big problem in this country is managing religious diversity"
The Dean of Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University of Yogyakarta said that, “The big problem in this country is managing religious diversity,” With many different religions and no formal, established communication between them, messages easily become mixed and people are quick to misunderstand one another.
Political leaders and the deans of universities all cite fragmented inter-religious polarization as one of the main contributors to the rise in radical extremists. The NU’s Banser and Ansor are one of the best ways of bridging the gap between religions. By offering their services to society and protecting people of other faiths, the Banser is taking one big step towards establishing inter-religious harmony in Indonesia.
Brittin Ward is a recent graduate of The King’s College in Manhattan. Brittin spent the month of May in Indonesia as a Media Project Scholar.
Robert Carle is a professor of theology at The King’s College and a contributor to The American Interest, Public Discourse, Society, Human Rights Review, Newsday, Academic Questions, and reason.com