NEWSWEEK Magazine, October 28, 2002 issue
'Bin Laden Is a Hero'
Abu Bakar Bashir looks like a gentle cleric. But his words are chilling, and
investigators believe he leads a terror network
By Joe Cochrane
NEWSWEEK
Oct. 28 issue — Dressed in flowing white robes, Abu Bakar Bashir sat quietly on a
straw mat last Wednesday in a house in a blue-collar neighborhood of south Jakarta.
The grandfatherly 64-year-old, whose face is adorned with thick glasses and a white
beard, didn't look like an accused terrorist.
THEN HE OPENED his mouth—the only weapon that investigators can prove beyond
doubt that Bashir has used in his holy war against Christianity and Judaism. "America
and Israel are the real terrorists," he fumed, starting a rant that lasts nearly 30
minutes. "America has a big agenda to fight Islam around the world because Islam
has become their main enemy since the fall of communism." This agenda is so large,
he insists, that it was the CIA that planted two bombs in a popular nightclub on the
Indonesian island of Bali on Oct. 12, killing more than 180 people.
Investigators from the United States and several other countries have long believed
that Bashir is a terrorist leader and should be locked up. But in Indonesia, Bashir's
antics have struck terror within the halls of power, most notably inside the palace of
President Megawati Sukarnoputri. The aging cleric has taken advantage of Indonesia's
democratic freedoms to transform himself from a obscure Muslim boarding-school
rector into an Asian spokesman for radical Islam. He extols violence, while
disclaiming any role in it. Asked what he thought of being compared to Osama bin
Laden, Bashir told NEWSWEEK: "Praise the Lord. Osama bin Laden is a Muslim
hero and warrior of God."
Bashir loves the notoriety and would probably like nothing more than to play the
martyr in a standoff with Megawati's secular government. Yet some Indonesians are
perplexed by Megawati's soft-glove treatment of Bashir. The vast majority of
Indonesia's 190 million Muslims are moderates who listen to Western music, wear
designer clothes and watch American TV shows. They haven't rallied behind the small
but vocal minority of Islamic radicals who have operated with impunity for the past
three years, ransacking bars, threatening to expel Western tourists and fighting
against Christians in Indonesia's eastern Molucca Islands. Still, the Jakarta
government, apparently terrified of an Islamic backlash if it cracked down on the
radicals, all the while denied there was a problem.
The militants' ambitions extend well beyond Indonesia. Western governments, as well
as Malaysia and Singapore, say Bashir is the leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a group
affiliated with Al Qaeda. Jemaah Islamiah's goals include creating a Pan-Islamic state
comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. Since last December
dozens of alleged members have been arrested in Southeast Asia, charged with
plotting attacks against domestic and U.S. targets. (Bashir has repeatedly denied any
connection to the group or to terrorism.) Citing lack of evidence, Indonesia refused
requests to extradite him to Singapore.
Megawati's government may now be regretting its reluctance to act. The cleric, facing
the prospect of arrest, collapsed on Friday and was admitted to a hospital. Police on
Saturday arrested him at his hospital bed after he ignored a summons to appear for
questioning in connection with bombings two years ago. But Bashir may still have the
advantage. Police say they have no evidence linking him to the Bali blasts; the
information connecting him to Jemaah Islamiah comes largely from a 31-year-old
Kuwaiti who confessed to investigators of being Al Qaeda's point man in Southeast
Asia. "Of course we can question him... but if we finally should release him, then he
[will] become a very big hero," says Muchyar Yara, spokesman for Indonesia's State
Intelligence Agency. Then Bashir's rants will attract a wider audience, and Indonesia's
problems will multiply.
© 2002 Newsweek, Inc.
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