Nusantara Islamic Jihad Forces (Angkatan Mujahideen Islam Nusantara, AMIN) 



Origins

As result of the violence that took place in Ambon in January 1999 and purposely with the aim of defending Muslims in risk there, several new militias, in principle belonging to the Darul Islam movement, emerged. However, tensions soon arose within this movement as some members wanted a fatwa - i.e. an official opinion on a Muslim point of law - declaring that jihad in Ambon was obligatory for all Muslims. In mid-1999, four of these members (Yoyok alias Danu, Zulfikar, Abdullah and Asadullah) decided to end their allegiance to the “old Darul Islam leadership” and established the Abu Bakar Battalion. AMIN was then formed from one of the six companies or Kompi that made of the Abu Bakar Battalion. Specifically, and according to the International Crisis Group, these companies or Kompi were named by letters from A to F; Kompi F became later AMIN.

Location / Main area of operation

AMIN operates mainly around Jakarta and in Ambon.


Objectives

The objective of this armed group in its origins was to defend Muslims during the violence that occurred in Ambon in January 1999.

Number of Members


In April 1999, Indonesian police estimated that this armed group was formed by around 24 people. Nevertheless, subsequent events showed that this group was bigger. 2 The current strength of this armed group is difficult to estimate due to the close linkages that exist between members of various armed groups in Indonesia.

 

Type : National

Despite the lack of a clear internal structure or chain of command, this group can be considered as a national non-state armed group as it has carried out armed operations solely in the territory of Indonesia.

Conflict Status : Dormant

Observers differ largely as to the status of the armed actions of this armed group. On the one hand, some suggest that that it conducted its last armed operation either in 1999 when a bomb went off against a business target in Jakarta; or in March 2000 when an attempt of murder against Matori Abdul Jalil, head of the political party Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa (PKB) and later Defence Minister in Megawati’s government was carried out by the group’s members. On the other, a report of the German Institute for International and security affairs (SWP-Studied) affirms that armed actions of Kompi Abu Bakar are in fact those of AMIN since several persons carry out armed actions on behalf of either armed group.

Structure of the organization

It is particularly difficult to ascertain the structure of this armed group since its members change of functions or even of organization very often. Specifically, and because of the importance of the Darul Islam philosophy in Indonesia, the structures of the armed groups sharing that ideology are not clear, and an individual belonging to a certain group can also work for another.

Leadership

According to the International Crisis Group, the most important members of this armed group are Yoyok and Zulfikar, who were among the four founders of Abu Bakar Battalion. Currently, AMIN is headed by Edy Rianto, alias Amir, who is a graduate of a technical high school in east Jakarta. After the attempt of murder on the PKB party’s head, Matori Abdul Jalil on 5 March 2000, AMIN split into two factions: one led by Asadullah and the other by Yoyok.

 

External aid/Third party involvement

No information is available on this subject matter.

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

There is no information that AMIN actions have had any direct external effect.

Funding

Little information is available on this matter. Specifically, it has been reported that the April 1999 robbery of the Bank Central Asia in Jakarta was allegedly carried out by this armed group with the aim of funding its armed activities.

 

Relationship with the international community

AMIN is not considered, as of July 2007, as a terrorist organization either by the United States or the European Union.

Books

  • Feillard, Andrée and Madinier, Rémy (2006), La fin de l’innocence? L’Islam indonésien face à la tentation radicale de 1967 à nos jours (Paris: Les Indes savantes).

Articles and Chapters

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

  • EU Council, Common Position 2006/380/CFSP of 29 May 2006, Official Journal of the European Communities L 144/25, 31 May 2006.

Governmental reports

  • U.S. Department of State, 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism Report, Appendix C – Background on Other Terrorist Groups, Washington DC, 29 April 2004, available at www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/crt/2003/31759.htm.
  • U.S. Department of State, Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Fact Sheet Office of Counterterrorism, Washington DC, 11 October 2005, available at link.
     

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

  • Bolte, Patrick, Möller, Kay and Rzyttka, Osman, Politischer Islam, Sepraratismus und Terrorismus in Südostasien, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Deutsches Institut für Internationale Politik und Sicherheit, SWP-Studie 2003/S, 12 March 2003, available at link.
  • International Crisis Group, Recycling Militants in Indonesia: Darul Islam and the Australian Ambassy Bombing, Asia Report N°92, 22 February 2005, available at link.
     

Press Information (in chronological order)

Interviews

Internet resources

Statements of the armed group

Agreements involving armed groups