AP Praises Caliphate-Seeking ‘Islamists’ in Indonesia for Charitable Work

Breitbart: 

Some caliphate-seeking “Islamists” in the world’s most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, are the “first” to step up to the plate and provide assistance during natural disasters on the largest island nation in the world, the Associated Press (AP) celebrated this week.

AP praised a “hardline Islamic group notorious for vigilante violence” — the “Islamic Defenders Front” — for being the “first” group to provide help in the absence of government assistance and international aid organizations when an earthquake and tsunami struck the provincial capital of Palu in Indonesia in September 2018.

Some experts have linked the front to terrorist activities, particularly against Christians and other religious minorities in the country.

The front is not the only Islamist group that has taken up charitable work in Indonesia. Other Islamic groups, including the caliphate-seeking Hizbut Tahrir, “have embraced charitable work, filling a void left by the government and mainstream Muslim organizations,” AP added.

For years, particularly in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, U.S. authorities have connected several Islamic charities to terrorist activities.

Lionizing the Islamic front’s alleged humanitarian activities throughout the article, the AP noted near the end that the group has targeted Christians, adding that Indonesian authorities charged its leader, Rizieq Shihab, with pornography-linked crimes a few years ago. In June 2018, the Jakarta Post reported that law enforcement dropped the probe into Shihab.  more here