“A fresh batch of Jemaah Islamiah recruits (JI) graduates from a Mindanao training camp next week, some others are being groomed in Pakistan and dozens more recruited from mosques and pesantrens in Indonesia.” This from Straits Times, with thanks to Nicolei. It would seem to me long past time for Muslims who truly reject what […]
Bush = Trotsky?
Amir Butler, Executive Director of the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee (AMPAC), has written an op-ed in the Jakarta Post entitled “Trotsky’s idea clearly similar to forced democracy upon Muslim World.” Well, I wouldn’t have thought of comparing Bush to Trotsky, although Woodrow Wilson has crossed my mind. But the main point of Butler’s editorial […]
Jihad to be explained by scholars
At long last, a group of Islamic scholars is going to cut through all the confusion and explain what the word jihad really means: “The Council of Religious Ministers for Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore (MABIMS) will publish a comprehensive working paper for explaining Jihad (crusade or holy war) to their Ummah (followers of […]
Cleric: Bali bombers are Allah’s fighters, not terrorists
Abu Bakar Bashir Here is an example of why Muslims and non-Muslims so often talk past each other: Abu Bakar Bashir, the Indonesian Muslim leader who is or has been the head of the radical Muslim group Jemaah Islamiyah (although he denies it) has said that “the Bali bombers and an Indonesian bomb-maker killed by […]
A holly jihadi Christmas in Jakarta?
“Indonesia’s capital could be the target of a bombing campaign during the Christmas and New Year festivities, a Jakarta police chief has warned.” So says AFP, with thanks to nicolei. “‘Based on intelligence information that we have received, the prominent issue that needs to be addressed is bombings,’ Inspector-General Makbul Padmanegara was quoted by the […]
Terrorism, Suicide Attacks Forbidden by Islamic Law, Muslim Scholars Say
An influential group of Muslim scholars in Indonesia have declared that suicide attacks, and terrorism in general, is forbidden by Islamic law.” So says VOA News. “Members of the Indonesian Ulama Council, which brings together Muslim scholars to discuss the implementation of Islamic law, say that killing – especially of innocents – is contrary to […]
Terror groups mull: Is it OK to kill Muslims, too?
“Southeast Asian radicals” — radical Muslims, that is, not Maoists — “are divided over the wisdom of attacking hotels, nightclubs and other ‘soft targets’ where Muslims may be killed alongside Westerners — an internal split that could weaken the terrorist enterprise, authorities told The Associated Press.” This is because a Muslim must not kill another […]
Indonesia: Christians slain during church service
Joko Harmono files this report from Indonesia: Christians slain by Terrorists during Church Service by Joko Harmono POSO, INDONESIA, Nov 30 2003: Tonight, as the congregation in Tabamawo, 120 km (70 miles) east of Poso, sat attentively, taking in the sermon being delivered by their pastor’s wife, Sandra Tengker, two gunmen arrived on motorcycles, coming […]
Radical Muslim cleric cleared of treason, jail term cut
“The Jakarta Superior Court has overturned militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir’s treason and sedition conviction, and cut his jail term from four years to three.” This from Straits Times, with thanks to nicolei. Judges said prosecutors failed to prove Bashir had taken part in a plot by the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror network to […]
Indonesia: Christians in precarious situation
Joko Harmono reports in Christian Monitor that the situation of Christians in Indonesia has not improved since the Malino Accord of December 2001. In fact, since then “there have been repeated provocative violations of the agreement. In January and February 2002 there were some promising signs that perhaps the Malino Accord could produce a lasting […]