12/12/2020 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – One of Indonesia’s terrorist groups has deployed charity boxes at marketplace throughout Indonesia, with the hope to trick the unsuspecting shoppers into giving money that would fund the group’s terror activities, according to Indonesian police.
On December 9, the National Police revealed the discovery, after questioning 24 members from Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) arrested in the October-November period.
“The funds collected are used to send people to Syria, to fund military training, help wanted terrorists to evade capture, and to purchase guns and explosives,” Brigadier-General Awi Setiyono was quoted by medeka.com as saying.
Setiyono also added that at least 13,000 boxes were placed by one supposed charity group called the BM ABA foundation. Its leaders were among the upper leadership of JI, a terror organization based in Southeast Asia that has links with al-Qaeda.
According to Jakarta Globe, Ken Setiawan, a former terrorist recruiter and founder of a deradicalization organization Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) Crisis Center, said terrorists have been masking their fund-raising efforts using charity activities in the past two decades.
“They created legal organizations in the form of NGOs, orphanage foundations, to charity organizations. Foundations created by these radical groups have spread under the guise of social activities,” Ken said.
