With ISIS fingerprints: Terrorism strikes Indonesia amid sectarian violence

Southeast Asia is still a haven for ISIS, which seeks to develop its influence in the region to establish an alleged caliphate that strengthens its presence in the continent, especially in Indonesia, based on societal inputs that contributed to ISIS dyeing terrorism in Jakarta with special conditions.
ISIS attacks churches in Indonesia
The ISIS operations have returned to hit Indonesia again. At
the end of last month, at least 14 people were injured in the bombing of a
Catholic church in the city of Makassar, on the eastern island of Sulawesi, in
conjunction with the celebration of Palm Sunday.
The Indonesian authorities announced that two assailants who
were riding a motorcycle tried to break into the side entrance of the church
before blowing themselves up. The United Nations Security Council condemned the
attack, stressing that the terrorist act could not be justified and calling on
states to join hands to confront violent extremism.
For its part, the police announced the involvement of ISIS in the operation, and this is not the first time that the terrorist organization has targeted the country's churches, specifically during days of gatherings and events to cause the largest possible number of injuries and deaths. The attack had occurred at the main entrance that would have caused more casualties.
Family terrorism
In addition to ISIS being characterized in Indonesia in
terms of attacking members of the Christian community and targeting their
places of worship, the experience of organization in the country has resulted
in what is known as “family terrorism”, as the Indonesian authorities announced
that the attackers who targeted the church were a married couple.
The two ISIS elements married only six months ago, and the
husband is in his mid-twenties. The authorities have reserved their names, and
the police reported that investigations are still underway to ensure that no
other people were involved in the attack, as well as to uncover whether there
is an organized cell seeking to destroy the country's churches and attack
Christians, after police found explosives linked to the recent attack on the
church, which is located far from the capital, Jakarta.
Police investigations prove that the spouses were members of
the local group affiliated with ISIS, known as Ansar al-Dawla. The attack
brought the problem of family terrorism in Indonesia back to the media front,
as terrorist families' full involvement in suicide operations cast a shadow
over the integrity of the societal structure and internal security of the
country, as this would provide more secrecy and obscure the terrorist attacks,
complicating the work of the police services.
Raising children within families that owe allegiance to a
terrorist ideology affects the future political and economic development of the
country and exposes it to becoming a geographical extension of an influential
ISIS caliphate threatening the security of the region. The danger of family
terrorism appears in its repetition, without awareness campaigns that impede
its exacerbation. In 2018, a family carried out simultaneous attacks against
three churches in the Surabaya region, resulting in dozens of casualties.
Consequently, family terrorism has become a phenomenon in
Indonesia. A family member adopting an extremist ideology is not widely
condemned among families in the country, which facilitates the joining of all
family members to the same ideology, in addition to the expansion of the circle
of belief in suicide as a means of serving religion, which is inconsistent with
the correct foundations for the values of martyrdom for the sake of God, which
needs religious support.
A study by the Future Center on the causes of the growth of
ISIS in Indonesia highlighted the role of the return of ISIS elements to the
country after the fall of the organization in Syria and Iraq in the development
of extremist ideology in the country, which raises problems about the role of
security and religious authorities in avoiding the emergence of new terrorist
elements, controlling returnees, and undermining the spread of terrorism.