Al-Jazeerah.info [US], 15 November 2004
Muslims Are Not Terrorists: Yudhoyono
Agence France Presse, Arab News
JAKARTA, 15 November 2004 - Muslims are not terrorists, Indonesian President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday as millions of people in the world's
largest Muslim nation celebrated Eid Al-Fitr.
"We truly feel sad if world opinion, deliberately or not, aims to put Muslims in a corner
as identical with violence and terrorism," he was quoted as saying by the official
Antara news agency in a speech welcoming the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
"Certainly Muslims will reject being regarded as the masterminds of terrorism in this
world," said Yudhoyono, who took office last month vowing to fight such violence.
Over the past two years Indonesia has been hit by three major bombings which
authorities blame on the Jemaah Islamiyah regional group.
The most serious attack killed 202 people on the resort island of Bali in October,
2002. A bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta last year killed 12 while the most
recent attack, the month before Yudhoyono took office, killed 11 people outside the
Australian embassy.
Yudhoyono said Islam taught peace and justice. "We are ordered to keep away from
violence and arbitrary acts," he said before calls of "Allah-o-Akbar (Allah greater)"
floated over Jakarta yesterday morning as the faithful gathered for prayers following a
night of celebrations.
Streets filled with cars and motorcycles as revelers, some banging drums on the back
of trucks, paraded through the city.
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