We Dont Need the Killing Machine

The program is not merely proposed by the government. Civilians should have the responsibility to help the ex-activists to recover their memory and shift their mindset back. Their positive attitude makes it faster to regain the awareness to make peace with themselves, their environment, and their nation.

Deradicalization should not be done destructively, such as the hunting the activists with the gun. It is more like a murder. How can they make the dialog when there is a gun pointed on them? The dialog approach should be the priority of the program. They will do it if we ask them in a correct way.

I am fully aware that every institution has a different way in doing the program. I understand that the hunters of the radical activists are not taught to have the dialog with them. They just trap and shoot.

If we know the secret of changing the mindset of these radical activists, we do not need the bullets, grenades, bombs, and any other weapons. These are the killing machine, not the tools to frighten people.

So, what is the acceptable deradicalism program? What we jointly do with ICDW (Indonesian Center for Deradicalization and Wisdom) is helping the ex-members in settling up their life. When they shift the mindset, we give the guidance and facility to make them live better with their new mindset. In my experience, 9 out of 10 activists give positive responds if they are offered the solution for their daily need. It is very naive, but it is the fact.

It is better not to bother them with the idea of bringing their memory back to their previous life. For some people, it is painful. They do not want their children to know their past life. It is done to make them sterile from the ideology of revenge.

There is a time, however, when they watch the discussion, the arrest, the attack and all terrorist issues on television. The shows do not offer a way out to overcome the terrorism threat. We watch the action of the Densus88 and TV journalists in eradicating their enemies that functioning as the rating tool at the same time, just like watching the American action movies.

It is a different era, indeed. Back then, when the intelligent did their job, the handling on the threat of the nation stability (now frequently labeled as terrorist) is done in a very smooth way. People do not know who is being targeted. The underground activists are not aware of their friends being caught. The media find it difficult to get the particular information. But today, do they prepare such television shows? Do they have in scenes? What impact does it have on the activists who live with their revenge? It is truly worth-thinking.

presented by MT as ICDW Activist in Plenary Sessions, Changing the Faces of Radicalism – International Conference, Global Perspectives on Islam, spiritualism, and radicalism. November, 23, 2012, at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University | transalated by @utamiutar