COLUMNS

Looking for a Silver Lining in Indonesia's "Black May"

undefined and VP of Tactical Analysis
Scott Stewart
VP of Tactical Analysis, Stratfor

May 22, 2018 | 07:00 GMT

In this photograph, police in Indonesia examine a minivan used five men to attack a police headquarters in Pekanbaru, Riau, on May 16, 2018.

Indonesian policemen examine a car used by attackers outside the police headquarter in Pekanbaru, Riau, on May 16, 2018. Four men were shot and killed in the attack that left one officer dead and two injured.

(DEDY SUTISNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • This month has been labeled "Black May" by the Indonesian press because of an unprecedented number of jihadist attacks by a local militant group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
  • Despite the high tempo, a result of jihadists returning from Syria, the attacks were largely crude in nature. 
  • The use of women and children in suicide bombings will ensure jihadists in Indonesia remain marginalized.

May has been a violent month in Indonesia. The Jakarta Post has already nicknamed the month "Black May" because of the number of attacks linked to Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD). Over the course of nine days, about 40 people, including the attackers, have died and more than 50 have been wounded in a string of bombings and knife and sword attacks. And most of the violence began before Ramadan, a month in which jihadist violence often surges. However, if a silver lining can be found in the attacks, it is this: The tempo has been unusually high, but the level of sophistication has been low. Also, Indonesia has been repulsed by the use of women and children in the bombings, and that will continue to keep jihadism on the margins in the world's most populous Muslim country....

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