From a Counter-Society to a Counter-State Movement: Jemaah Islamiyah According to PUPJI

Militant Splinter Groups and the Use of Violence

“…In other words, AQMA harbored more extreme preferences than JI. Faction members splintered believing that the use of violence against civilians was necessary and appropriate to achieve their desired ends (Pavlova 2007).…”

“…JI’s goal was to establish a transnational Islamic state encompassing the territory of Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, and the southern Philippines (Mapping Militant Organizations 2018). In 1996, a JI committee of clerics authored the “General Guide for the Struggle of Al-Jama’ah Al-Islamiyah” – also known as Pedoman Umum Perjuangan Al-Jama’ah Al-Islamiyah (PUPJI) – to guide senior leadership (Pavlova 2007). PUPJI served as both a general manifesto of the group’s aims as well as an operational handbook.…”

“…PUPJI argued that, for JI to achieve its aims, it needed both a Qiy’adah Rosyidah (core group of leaders) as well as a Qoi’dah Sholabah (solid base of supporters) (Pavlova 2007). The group’s leaders organized into a Central Executive Committee, which oversaw operational planning and implemented a “top-down decision-making process” to set group policy (Baker 2005).…”

“…The group’s leaders organized into a Central Executive Committee, which oversaw operational planning and implemented a “top-down decision-making process” to set group policy (Baker 2005). The Central Committee oversaw four different mantiqis (regional divisions) and delegated commands to field coordinators within each mantiqi (ICG 2002; Pavlova 2007). Mantiqi I and IV managed fundraising operations in Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia (Harris-Hogan and Zammit 2014).…”

Jemaah Islamiyah: Of Kin and Kind

“…JI was formally founded in 1993 after friction within Darul Islam resulted in the late Abdullah Sungkar leaving to form a split faction. Conceived from the outset as a military outfit with its own charter, operational guidelines and strategic programmes -as evident from its so-called manifesto, entitled Pedoman Umum Perjuangan al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah (General Guide for the Struggle of al-Jama'ah al-Islamiyah, or better known by its Indonesian acronym, PUPJI) -JI started out as a highly centralized and well-structured organization (see Pavlova 2006). Management was very topdown with a clear hierarchical order; the group operated at the various 3 For example, individuals such as Musa Warman, whose "achievements" included organizing fa'i raids to obtain funds and weapons, could very well be controversial, but their stories live on; see ICG 2005.…”