Angkatan Mujahideen Islam Nusantara (AMIN) is an offshoot of the extremist Darul Islam (DI) movement in Indonesia. The group shares the broad ideology of DI, in that it supports "Islamic Nusantara", or the creation of an Islamic state in Southeast Asia that stretches from Southern Thailand to Mindanao.<br /><p><br />In 1999, several low-level DI leaders in Jakarta were disappointed that the upper echelons of DI leadership seemed unwilling to respond to increasing violence between Christians and Muslims in Ambon. These commanders gathered their members and formed the Abu Bakar Battalions, which were organized into six companies, A through F. Company F was so successful in fundraising and recruiting that it broke off from Abu Bakar and renamed itself AMIN.<br /><p><br /><br />Throughout 1999, AMIN focused on recruitment, training, and funding to support their fellow Muslims in Ambon. AMIN was able to find new members through personal contacts in the DI community and Islamic schools dedicated to the Nusantara concept. Analysts have pointed out that the interconnected nature of Indonesian terrorist groups, brought on by the fact that most grew out of the DI movement, allows groups to share members, weapons, and finances. This has the effect of making the cells harder to fully exterminate.<br /><p><br /><br />AMIN members are thought to have been trained in Jemaah Islamiya-associated camps in Mindanao, and financing was accomplished by robbing institutions owned or operated by "non-believers", who AMIN thought to include not only Christians but also non-radical Muslims. Raids on police stations were conducted to supply AMIN with weaponry. Most of AMIN's attacks were focused on these preparatory missions. After this initial period, AMIN fighters, along with Islamic militants from other groups such as Laskar Jihad, headed to Ambon in December 1999, intent on challenging the Indonesian government's hold on the province and terrorizing the Christian population with small armed attacks and bombings. Violence in these forms continued until April 2004, but the region has remained relatively peaceful since.<br />