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JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities are stepping up their surveillance of Islamic universities across the country, following the arrest of a new militant group, led by a graduate of the State Islamic University in Jakarta.
Islamic boarding schools, such as the Al-Mukmin in Central Java, have been linked to high profile terrorists in Indonesia.
Now, the focus is on institutions such as the State Islamic University in Jakarta.
Four years spent at this prestigious Islamic university did not stop 32-year-old Pepi Fernando from turning to militancy. He was the alleged leader of a group behind a spate of mail bombs in Jakarta.
He also planned attacks on various sites in and around the capital.
Police foiled an attempt to bomb a gas pipeline near a church on Good Friday, and 17 members of Pepi's group were arrested.
Three are friends he knew from the State Islamic University.
Experts believe Indonesia is witnessing a new breed of militants.
"Now we see completely new pattern. We have to put a lot of energy to understand this group because there's no connection what so whatsoever between this group to the old one," said security analyst Mr Noor Huda Ismail.
Authorities are still trying to find out what motivates the group.
Pepi Fernando admitted to the police that he was recruited as a member of the outlawed group Negara Islam Indonesia, or Darul Islam, while in campus.
The clandestine organization aspires for an Islamic State, but Pepi said he left the organization to set up his own independent group.
Police say Negara Islam Indonesia has targeted a number universities in the country.
"I'm not surprised. Several of our studies showed there are indications of radicalism among students and this happens in several campuses," said Komarudin Hidayat, rector at Indonesia's State Islamic University.
Before this, radical ideas among students were confined to intellectual discourse, but now it is being translated into action, prompting universities to monitor campus activities more closely.
"Lecturers will be equipped with counselling skills, so we can detect students showing any tendencies at an early stage," said Mr Komarudin.
Experts also warned that Indonesia's battle against terrorism will get more difficult, if no proper rehabilitation programs are immediately put in place.
"When we manage this new wave of groups, what kind of prison system are we going to have? If we put this new school of recruitment and the traditional guys who are now been arrested in the same basket of jail, we are going to see mutants of terrorists," said Mr Noor Huda Ismail.
Even though small militant groups are emerging, and acting independently of more established networks, the threat from known militant outfits has not diminished.
- CNA/cc
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