Senior cleric: no terrorists in Aceh boarding schools

Banda Aceh, NU Online
A senior cleric in Aceh Besar district, Aceh province, Tgk. M Luthfi,  said that no Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Aceh are connected with a  terrorist network.

"There are no terrorists in boarding schools in Aceh. Islam does not  condone violence and chaos," he said here on Saturday.<>

He made the statement on the sidelines of a province-wide Koran  knowldge and speech contest, attended by Aceh Vice Governor  Muhammad Nazar, Aceh Besar district leaders and local police as  well as miliary officials.

The subdistrict of Seulimeuem, around 50 kilometers east of Banda  Aceh, the capital of Sumatran province of Aceh, is one of the regions  targeted by the police in their operations against an armed group  linked to a terrorist network.

Vice Governor Muhammad Nazar said Islam is a blessing for all  mankind and therefore it never tolerates violence in any form.

In view of that " I appeal to all boarding school members across  Aceh including clerics to conduct social service programs more often  with regard to inform the people about the true Islam," he said.

He also hoped that Islamic boarding schools could create an Islamic  civilization and become a social control with regard to development  and strengthen peace that has developed in Aceh.

Decades of armed conflicts had claimed thousands of people before  they ended following a peace deal between the government and the  Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland, on August 15,  2005.

"Never to let anyone disrupt Aceh which has been peaceful and is  conducting development program. So the role of clerics as well as  boarding school students must be strengthened in the development  efforts in Aceh," Nazar said.

He said the Aceh government treated Islamic boarding schools as  official education institutions which therefore also have to be  developed based upon standard requirements including in terms of  curriculum, management, teachers and number of students.

"This is aimed at making the schools strong and able to play a role in  the development efforts in the Indonesian most western province," he  said.

Even, he said, the schools must be facilitated so that they could have  perennial fund in addition to funds from the Aceh government so that  the schools could have agricultural land, fishery ponds and  cooperatives.

"Profits from the businesses would remain for the schools so that the  institutions could continue to operate to develop the people," he said.  (ant/dar)