Dr Noor Huda Ismail, a terrorism expert and Visiting Fellow at RSIS, said terrorists have begun to wage their battles “through the ballot instead of the bullet”, pushing their extremist ideology through politics. With more politically-savvy religious figures like Mr Yaqut stepping up to the plate and raising their moderate voice through the government, it is hoped that the terrorists’ threat will be subdued, he said. He added: “Sadly, the threat of terrorism will not be rooted out completely in Indonesia. What we can do is to slow down the process of growth and contain its tentacles.”