Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir backs Bali bombers, vows to enforce Islamic law in Indonesia
- Bashir said the 2002 attack that killed 202 people was wrong, but that he believes the culprits executed for their roles in the bombings were trying to ‘get rid of sinful deeds’
- The 84-year-old also called for establishing an Islamic state in Indonesia, saying that is the only way to practice perfect Islamic law
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Days after the Bali attack, Bashir was arrested over a separate case and later imprisoned. After being released in 2004, he was sent to prison again in 2005 for conspiracy over the Bali bombings but was acquitted by the Supreme Court the following year.
In the interview, Bashir said the attack was wrong but that he believes three men executed in 2008 for their involvement in the bombings had “good intentions and purposes” because they were trying to “get rid of sinful deeds” such as music and alcohol that go against Islamic law.
During his trial over the bombings, Bashir was found to have given his blessing when the plan was insinuated before the attack. The Supreme Court overturned the determination, finding no orders given by the cleric or conspiracy involving him.
Bashir repeated in the interview that he is not a leader of Jemaah Islamiah and never ordered the attack.
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About Indonesia being a secular democracy and the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, with more than 230 million adherents who primarily practice a moderate form of Islam, Bashir rejected it as a mistake.
“What we have to do now is work hard to make Indonesia implement Islamic law because Indonesia is actually supposed to be an Islamic state. But successive governments have not been willing to implement it,” the cleric said.
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Bashir said Indonesia partially implements Islamic law, such as through religious affairs offices, which deal with Islamic marital registration. He called for establishing an Islamic state, saying that is the only way to practice perfect Islamic law.
Wearing a white robe, the white-bearded Bashir still routinely leads an Islamic prayer five times a day at a big mosque at the centre of his Al-Mukmin Islamic school.
Despite a worsening health condition, he forces himself to receive guests and walk within the school complex and around his residence located inside the complex. He uses a wooden stick and is aided by his son to walk.
The school, which he founded, marked its 50th anniversary this year. It is attended by hundreds of students coming from all over the country.
In August, an association of school alumni, now numbering around 14,000, held an Independence Day flag-raising ceremony in the school compound, attended by, among others, members of the military and police, and government officials in addition to some 600 students, Bashir said.
In 2011, Bashir was handed a 15-year jail term after being found guilty of funding a terrorist training camp in the westernmost province of Aceh. He was released in January last year after his sentence was shortened for good behaviour.
