Indonesia: “Journalism is My Jihad”

Posted by Elena Perotti on September 26, 2006 at 4:59 PM

“Journalism is my Jihad”, recently declared Agung Rulianto, journalist for the Indonesian weekly Tempo. Rulianto, who leads a team of investigative reporters, has devoted his professional efforts to tracking terrorism in his country since the attack of October 2002. His last cover story for Tempo raised strong reactions in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

The article is titled “A new breed of terrorists”, and it reports of a “how-to” book that terrorists are allegedly using in Indonesia. The book is an 82 page manual providing practical instructions on setting up jihad cells, raising funds and recruiting members. Tempo cover story needed two months of investigation to be completed, and was published in September because the recent years’ attacks happened between the months of August and October.

''They are the enemy of the state, the enemy of the people, and we have a responsibility to expose them,'' said Rulianto in an interview to the editorial offices of Tempo.

According to Muslim scholars, the term “jihad” does not necessarily refer to war or violence, but can define an intellectual struggle.

Source: Asia Media Forum

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