The plague of Saudi Arabia's wahhabism spreading worldwide ....

with help from its allies.

Jacob Zenn writing at ModernTokyo:
.....From Syria to Sulawesi: Could Mujahideen Indonesia Timor become an ISIS Ally?   

A schism emerged among Syrian jihadist groups after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri announced on February 3 that al-Qaeda has “no connection” to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) (Daily Times [Lahore], February 13). The message, which was circulated on jihadi websites, has forced Syrian jihadist groups to side with ISIS or al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra (Fisyria.com, January 13). The announcement is also affecting jihadist groups outside of Syria such as those in Indonesia.

Jihadists from Indonesia have used the Syrian Civil War as an opportunity to rebuild their international jihadist connections, with Indonesians joining al-Nusra, ISIS and humanitarian organizations in Syria that are connected to terrorist groups. The announced split has faced Indonesian jihadists with the decision to support al-Zawahiri or ISIS. On the battlefields in Syria, most Indonesian aid workers and fighters supported al-Nusra at the start of the Syrian Civil War, but the main domestic Indonesian jihadist group on the island of Sulawesi as well as most Indonesian-language jihadist websites now appear to be more aligned with ISIS. If Indonesian jihadists align with ISIS over al-Qaeda, this could accelerate the globalization of the split in the al-Qaeda movement, with more international affiliates siding with ISIS and therefore weakening al-Zawahiri.

In 2011, the Syrian rebel group Ahrar al-Sham posted the first online “martyrdom” notice of an Indonesian militant, Reza Fardi (a.k.a. Abu Muhammad), who died fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces near Aleppo. Since then, Indonesian intelligence officials estimate that 50 Indonesians have joined the rebels in Syria (Jakarta Post, January 8). Dozens of Indonesians in the Hilal al-Ahmar Society in Indonesia (HASI), considered the humanitarian wing of Indonesian terrorst group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), are also providing aid to the rebels, with some of them likely switching uniforms from relief worker to rebel (Jakarta Globe, January 30).

Jakarta is concerned that Indonesians in Syria may acquire the bomb-making skills and experience needed to replicate the wave of attacks that JI carried out in Indonesia between 1999-2002. During those three years, JI bombed Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, attempted to assassinate the Philippine ambassador in Jakarta and carried out church bombings in Jakarta, Sumatra (Indonesia’s largest island), Java (the most populated island), the island of Lombok (east of Bali) and the island of Batam (a shipping hub on the Singapore Strait). The year 2002 concluded with JI’s bombing attack at Kuta Beach in Bali, which killed nearly 200 people......