After a series of book bombs, a suicide attack on a mosque in Cirebon and a plot to bomb a church in Tangerang on Good Friday, Islamist militancy in Indonesia has returned to the spotlight. Due to this renewed attention, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces pressure to crack down on Darul Islam, aka Negara Islam Indonesia, and its recruiting networks across the islands. Darul Islam is more than 60 years old and is part of a centurylong trend of Islamist organizations and violence in Indonesia. Attacks were first organized in Solo and Kudus in 1912 by Javanese traders on Chinese competitors. Nearly 100 years later, in 2011, two militant cells have been uncovered building and deploying explosive devices. While the most capable militants, former members of Jemaah Islamiyah, have mostly been arrested or killed, Darul Islam, along with radical preachers like Abu Bakar Bashir, continues to inspire violence aimed at creating an Indonesian Islamic state.
