Multipurpose Ansor Front, better known as Banser (abbreviation of ''Barisan Ansor Serbaguna''), is an Islamic

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

organization based in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. It is a paramilitary wing of the youth organization Ansor Youth Movement (GP Ansor) affiliated with

Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership estimates range from 40 million (2013) to over 95 million (2021), making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU also is a charitable body funding sch ...

(NU), the largest Islamic mass organization in the world. Banser operates as a semi-autonomous body of GP Ansor and mainly serves for the security and humanitarian operations. Combined personnel of Banser doubles the number for the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI), making Banser (and its parent organization GP Ansor) a political heavyweight which holds the key to the national stability. Throughout the history, Banser had played major roles especially in issues related to religion, from the active participation in

Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966 Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

against the perceived members of

Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...

, to the more recent development of standoff against Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia. In terms of political orientation, Banser, along with GP Ansor, is characterized by traditionalist Islam, populism and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

History

On April 24, 1934, the precursor of GP Ansor, Ansor Nahdlatul Oelama (ANO) was formally established as the youth wing of NU, and subsequently, the scouting organization Ansor Nahdlatul Ulama Front (Banoe) was formed by ANO Malang chapter. In 1937, during the 2nd ANO Congress, Banoe was formalized under the leadership of the commander Syamsoel Islam who was also the chairman of ANO Malang chapter. Banoe Malang was then under the advisory of the Indonesian Army commander Major Hamid Roesdi, and these two are considered the founding figures of Banser.

Organization

Banser is supervised by GP Ansor through the coordination channel of the chairman of GP Ansor who has the authority towards the implementation of the military operations on all levels. Banser commanders have the communication channel toward the chairman of GP Ansor albeit limited to consultation. This organizational pattern is creating a semi-autonomous status of Banser, which is given by the chairman of GP Ansor and characterized by the higher autonomy on inter-organizational issues and higher dependency on GP Ansor on external interests of Banser.

References

{{Islam in Indonesia Islamic organizations based in Indonesia Islamic youth organizations Paramilitary organizations based in Indonesia Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic organizations established in 1937 Youth organizations based in Indonesia Youth organizations established in 1937 1937 establishments in the Dutch East Indies