
MEDAN, Indonesia -- The arrests of a senior member of Indonesia's top Islamic clerical body and the chairman of an Indonesian political party last week cast a new light on the most notorious terrorist group in Southeast Asia: Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
Among the arrested was Ahmad Zain An-Najah, a member of the fatwa commission of Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), or Indonesia Ulema Council -- the top Islamic clerical body in the country. The fatwa commission issues edicts, or legally nonbinding pronouncements on Islamic law.