Academia
Indonesia spent 20 years mastering the art of dismantling terrorist organizations. Its next threat will not have an organization to dismantle.
A janitor sweeps the floor after a homemade bomb blast at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 3 Padang in West Sumatra on July 14, 2026. (Antara/Fitra Yogi)
Within just a few months this year, police intercepted bomb plots at three separate state schools: SMA 72 Jakarta state senior high school, SMP 3 Sungai Raya state junior high school in West Kalimantan, and MAN 3 Padang Islamic senior high school in West Sumatra. Three schools. Three near-misses. Three teenagers who, on paper, are not terrorists at all.
It is not that the bombs were fake, investigators recovered three viable devices at MAN 3 Padang alone. Yet when law enforcement reviewed the cases, none met the legal definition of terrorism. There was no network behind them. No leader. No group membership. No co-conspirators. Just an isolated teenager, a grudge and an internet connection.
