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Originally posted by Rudey
But really you haven't shown its decline either. There are still bombings (See Jakarta/Australian embassy bombing). There are still people who identify with people as freedom fighters and not as terrorists or suicide murderers or whatever. Those sentiments have not decreased you say. Indonesia still appeals to Islamic terrorists and extremists and it's Indonesia and not all of South East Asia.
And if I say little has been said and done, that is actually a statement that isn't an absolute and fully valid.
-Rudey
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The bombing does not prove that Jemaah ISlamiyah is gaining membership, neither does it prove that its ideology is gaining ground. Sure there are people who identify with the terrorists, but does it mean that JI membership is increasing?
I would suggest that the recent election is a good indication where Indonesians attitude toward radical Islam lays. The secular parties have won it in an overwhelming manner. The radical parties were only able to garner a very small votes. In fact, they are loosing support to the point that the biggest Islamic party, PPP, has changed itself from being an Islamic party into a conservative nationalist party.
Dr Greg Fealy, a research fellow in Indonesian politics at the Department of Political and Social Change Research, School of Pacific and Asian Studies, at the Australian National University, Canberra, made the following statement about the repercussion about the bombing:
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Bombings such as yesterday's alienate Indonesian Muslims, making it more difficult for JI to achieve its goal of moving towards an Islamic state for Indonesia.
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there will be renewed revulsion within the Islamic community to the bombing, which will strengthen support among Indonesians for the strong anti-terrorism measures that have been taken already by the Indonesian Government.
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