The best way for the public to cope with the unlawful Indonesia Islamic State (NII) movement is with soft power rather than an iron-fist approach, Army chief Gen. George Toisutta says.

“The NII has a dark history [in Indonesia]. It is an ideology we should challenge. [But] we must fight the NII [ideology] with soft power through education and non-violent approaches,” Toisutta said Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

“If people become smarter and have a good career and income, they will not be so easily deceived by such ideologies,” he added.

Recent reports on a reemergence of the outlawed radical NII movement have reached alarming levels, with NII members said to be targeting to recruit students at universities and other educational institutions.

On Wednesday, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said his office would work to raise awareness among educational institutions about the trend.

Suryadharma said his office would invite leaders of educational institutions under its authority to a meeting to remind them of the alarming dangers of the NII ideology, as well as to warn them that this could penetrate [their institutions],” Suryadharma said.

Agencies under the Religious Affairs Ministry also plan to host NII-awareness sessions in various regions, focusing on providing information to principals of religion-based schools and their deputies overseeing student affairs, as well as to the heads of Islamic schools, he added.

Source : Jakarta Post