Indonesian jihad funded by charity fraud – VG

Lethal terrorist attacks and training camps for jihadists in Indonesia have been funded through a scam that has given terrorist groups financial muscle.

Khairul Ghazali, a former radical who is now a defector, tells how the fraud was carried out. He went around restaurants, shops and malls with gays who apparently raised money for charity.

The terrorists wore uniforms that gave the impression that they were official fundraisers.

And people willingly donated money. Money they thought went to, for example, child aid or emergency aid to the Palestinians. Charity is an important virtue for Muslims, who make up over 80 percent of Indonesia’s population.

Deadly network

The gays Ghazali launched did not belong to charities, but to Jeemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Islamist network that has been behind some of Indonesia’s deadliest terrorist attacks, such as the nightclub bombings in Bali in 2020.

– People can not see the difference between these and official charity guns. The money collected is normally used to pay for terrorism, Ghazali said.

The 56-year-old now runs a Muslim boarding school and tries to de-radicalize former extremists.

The charity scam is a very important source of income for the Indonesian terrorists, who are little supported by financial contributors abroad.

North Sumatra police said earlier this year that they had confiscated more than 500 guns they believe were used to raise money for the terrorists.

It probably only forms the tip of the iceberg.

Gays in every city

A JI terrorist arrested last year acknowledged that a foundation linked to the terrorist group had deployed more than 20,000 guns around Indonesia.

Experts believe such guns are deployed in every city in every region of the South Asian country.

– This is nothing new, but the scope of it, which is now massive, is new, says security analyst Sidney Jones in Jakarta.

“Most Indonesian terrorist groups are now overwhelmingly dependent on the covert fundraising,” she said.

Other sources of income are real donations from sympathizers, online fundraising and money laundering through legitimate businesses.

– But the attacks that have taken place after the Bali bombs are largely financed through charity guns, Ghazali says.

Secure income

The gays have proven to be a secure source of income that goes under the radar of the security services. A gay man can earn around 3,000 kroner in six months, says Ghazali.

– It is a convenient and risk-free way to do it. There is no danger of bloodshed as in a robbery, he says.

He himself has been in prison for five years for a bank robbery, which was previously the Islamists’ preferred source of income.

The fake charity guns are mostly linked to foundations controlled by terrorist groups or sympathizers, and they are most often registered with the authorities.

Organizations have to provide accounts, and often a portion of the money is actually spent on charitable causes in order not to attract attention.

– So it is actually orphanages and the poor that are taken care of through these gays, but it is a cover-up operation, says terror expert Ridlwan Habib at the University of Indonesia.

Got shocked

Since everything happens in cash, it is difficult for the authorities to keep track.

– Therefore, they can survive for several years by collecting money in this way without being detected, Ghazali says.

Another former extremist, Sofyan Tsauri, says kind-hearted Indonesians are being exploited.

“Indonesians like to donate to charity and are happy to give a few kroner without thinking about it,” says Tsauri.

When the fraud in North Sumatra became known earlier this year, several residents were shocked that they had helped finance terrorism.

– My intention was only to help others when I donated. I never thought it would be used for terrorism, says Sri Mulyani in Medan.

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