Indonesian School Has Chilling Roster Of Terrorist Alumni describes a Muslim school in that largely Muslim country:
The 15-year-old students rose one-by-one to practice their preaching. Speaking in a mixture of Arabic and Indonesian, they spoke about the importance of upholding strict Islamic law and defending their faith from attacks by infidels. Their classmates responded with exclamations — ‘God is great,’ ‘Hang the Jews!’ and ‘America — terrorist!’ — and pounded their wooden desks in delight.This was Thursday-afternoon preaching hour at the Pesantren al Mukmin, an Islamic boarding school in this poor suburb of Solo, a city on Indonesia’s crowded main island of Java. Al Mukmin features core subjects such as biology and history, an intolerant brand of Islam and an extraordinary group of ex-teachers and alumni.
The school has produced almost all of Indonesia’s top terrorist suspects, including alleged participants in last month’s attack on Jakarta’s J.W. Marriott Hotel and last October’s deadly nightclub bombing on the island of Bali.
[...]
Pictures of automatic rifles and tanks adorn the walls of the school. A slogan above the door to the main classroom building reads, “Death in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration.” Radical pamphlets printed nearby are widely available. One titled “Marriott Conspiracy Theory” blames Israeli and U.S. intelligence agents for the recent hotel bombing.
[...]
Teachers say they don’t encourage students to attack Christians or people of other religions. “It’s not hatred, but it’s what God says,” explains Widi bin Hasbi, a 27-year-old teacher. “The Koran says that we don’t want Jews and Christians to live with Muslims.”Sudarti Maryani, who is visiting her 14-year-old son at the school, says she isn’t troubled by the possibility that he may one day become a suicide bomber. “If my son thinks it is a good thing to do, I must say it is OK. I am just an illiterate mother,” she says.
As you might imagine, it’s a strict school:
A strict disciplinary code keeps students busy and on a short leash. The school day starts with predawn prayers at 3:30 and ends at 10 p.m. Permission to leave the school grounds is granted just once a month, and students can’t keep more than 10,000 rupiah (a bit more than $1) at any one time. Those who miss any scheduled prayers throughout the day can get 10 strokes of a rattan cane.
Why doesn’t the government do anything?
Government officials say that moving too aggressively against al Mukmin could inflame the country’s Muslims, who make up about 90% of the population of 220 million. But the school also reflects a broader dilemma facing the secular government of the world’s most-populous Muslim nation. While terrorist acts have put increasing pressure on Indonesia to move against groups that openly espouse hatred and violence, Jakarta is trying to protect the nascent democratic freedoms won just five years ago after the collapse of the 32-year Suharto dictatorship, which suppressed Islamic militants.
Note Indonesia’s population: 220 million. It’s almost as populous as the United States.