Radin Luqman: Police Stabbing in Malaysia Raises Questions About Future of Recently Disbanded Jemaah Islamiyah

Executive Summary:

• On May 17, Radin Luqman carried out a stabbing spree in Malaysia that killed two police officers and injured a third. Luqman is believed to be part of a cell affiliated with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which officially dissolved itself after the Bali bombings in 2002, and has been inactive for a decade. This has raised concerns over a possible revival of JI.
• On June 30, 16 of JI’s surviving leaders, including several who are still in prison, declared that the group was dissolved once again at an event hosted by Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit, Densus 88.

On May 17, a young man named Radin Luqman carried out a stabbing spree in the Ulu Tiram District of the southern Malaysian state of Johor. Luqman is believed to be a member of or otherwise affiliated with Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Given the fact that JI has carried out very few successful attacks over the past decade, the fact that this stabbing led to the death of two police officers (and injured a third) has raised concerns over a possible revival of JI (Benar News, May 17). Yet, Luqman’s radicalization and the recent attack reflect a generation of militants that are less lethal and less well-networked than JI has been previously.

The nature of Luqman’s attack suggested that he was, in fact, part of a cell, which could indicate a broader JI network. For example, the stabbing seemingly began when a couple created a diversion by making a false police report based on an event two years ago at a police station. Soon after this, Luqman took advantage of the confusion by attacking the distracted police officers (Channel News Asia, May 17).

Rather than the large-scale attacks of JI’s past, such as the 2002 Bali bombings, Luqman appears to continue the trend of small-scale “family jihad.” This has involved entire families in Southeast Asia—particularly in Indonesia and the Philippines—conducting terrorist attacks together. In these scenarios, one family member radicalizes their relations and encourages them to carry out attacks, ranging from children, cousins, and spouses to brothers and sisters-in-law (The Sydney Morning Herald, May 16, 2018). For example, Luqman’s own father had been a JI member and is said to have educated Luqman and his siblings himself—making it all the more likely that Luqman was essentially groomed to join JI (The Straits Times [Singapore], May 18). Further, his father allegedly pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) in 2014 and four other members of his family were arrested after the attack (AP News, June 19; Malay Mail, May 18).

Luqman’s radicalization also reflects his broader environment. His home region is host to Luqmanul Hakiem Islamic School, which was shut down by Malaysian authorities one year after 9/11. This was both because it was a known breeding ground for JI recruitment and for being founded by one of JI’s initial members, Abdullah Sungkar (LA Times, April 1, 2003). Further, Abubakar Baasyir, who is largely credited with cofounding JI with Sungkar, was a teacher at the school. Another teacher was Riduan Isamuddin (“Hambali”), who became head of JI’s operations until his arrest in Thailand in 2003 and extradition to the United States. He has been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay since 2006 (Al Jazeera, April 24, 2023).

While JI officially dissolved itself in the wake of the Bali Bombing in 2002, it continued to exist until quite recently. On June 30, 16 of JI’s surviving leaders (including several who are still in prison) declared that the group was dissolved once and for all at an event hosted by Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit, Densus 88 (Channel News Asia, July 4). Popular support for JI has been low, as the group previously alienated the population of Indonesia and Malaysia by killing too many civilians. Likewise, the past decade of failed operations sapped the group’s support from radicals. Regardless of the sincerity of JI’s dissolution, remnants of the JI network remain active and have made no such renunciation of violence—as can be seen by Luqman’s recent fatal attack, performed under the influence of JI’s radical ideology.