Shocking recent Islamist attacks risk overshadowing a hard-earned reputation for urban revival
Indonesia’s second-biggest city, Surabaya, drew global attention last month for the shocking use of children in Islamist terrorist suicide attacks against three Christian churches and a police headquarters, in which 14 people were killed. While the attacks have raised questions about religious co-existence in the city, they will hopefully only temporarily overshadow Surabaya’s emerging status as an exemplar for urban renaissance in a developing country. Following the radical devolution of power away from Jakarta since the turn of the millennium, Surabaya’s renovation of its infrastructure and social services under its formidable female mayor, Tri Rismaharini, has made it a role model for what can be achieved.
Once Java’s illustrious trading hub, Surabaya might have hoped its gradual loss of stature to Jakarta and dowdy modern reputation would make it a less obvious target for Islamist terrorism. But some analysts say the tightening of security in Jakarta and Bali after past terrorist attacks may have made the “City of Work”, as one recent history dubbed it, more vulnerable.
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