Australia.... "the lucky, gullible country"
By Natasha Robinson
ISLAMIC cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has returned to his
hardline rhetoric with a call for followers to "beat up" Western tourists and
for young Muslims to die as martyrs.
In the sermon, organised by an Islamic youth organisation and delivered a few
kilometres from the home village of convicted Bali bombers Amrozi and Mukhlas,
Bashir likened tourists in Bali to "worms, snakes, maggots",
and
specifically referred to the immorality of Australian infidels.
The address was caught on video by an Australian university student.
"The youth movement here must aspire to a martyrdom death," said the cleric,
who was convicted of conspiracy over the 2002 Bali
bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but
was later cleared and released from prison.
"The young must be first at the front line - don't hide at the back. You must be
at the front, die as martyrs and all your sins will be forgiven. This is how to
achieve forgiveness."
Observers said the sermon's content was a clear indication of what many
terrorism academics have noted - that the accused spiritual head of Jemaah
Islamiah has been emboldened by his release from prison last year after serving
26 months for conspiracy in relation to the Bali blasts.
"Immediately after Abu Bakar Bashir was released from incarceration he was very
cautious in spreading hatred," said Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International
Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Singapore's Nanyang
Technological University. "The remarks show that Abu Bakar Bashir has gone back
to the pre-incarceration period where he was in a very similar way urging JI
members, encouraging JI members to move in the direction of violence, especially
violence including terrorism."
The sermon was organised by the youth group Persatuan Pemuda Islam Pantura (Java
North Coast Islamic Youth Group) and delivered on October 22 last year.
It was captured on videotape by Darwin-based political science PhD student
Nathan Franklin, who was conducting research at Islamic boarding schools in east
Java.
Bashir's address was observed by the village's police chief and a horde of
plain-clothes Indonesian police officers. It was also attended by relatives of
Amrozi, who travelled to the sermon from the Bali bomber's former Islamic
boarding school on the village's outskirts.
The cleric has warned of retribution should the Bali bombers be executed by
firing squad.
During the sermon, Bashir talked of a previous visit to Australia, claiming that
he had wanted to see the "beauty of the ocean" but was told by a friend there
was "one condition" of a visit to the beach.
"He said if you enter that area you must be completely naked," Bashir told the
crowd of about 300 hearing his sermon.
Bashir likened non-Muslims to crawling animals. "Worms, snakes, maggots
- those are animals that crawl. Take a look at Bali ... those infidel tourists.
They are naked."
He called for signs to be erected across Indonesia warning tourists they were
entering a Muslim area, and directing they cover up appropriately. But in east
Java, he urged the Islamist youth to "beat up" foreigners.
"God willing, there are none here," Bashir said. "If there were infidels here,
just beat them up. Do not tolerate them."
Bashir has never sought to hide his support for the Mujahideen, or holy
warriors, who seek to wage jihad and die as martyrs in defence of Islam.
However, he has in the past been careful to distance himself from the Bali
bombings, praising the bombers' intention but not their method.
Mr Franklin, who is completing a doctorate in political science specialising in
Indonesian politics, agreed that Bashir's radical address proved the cleric had
been emboldened by his early release from prison and was seemingly intent on
attracting greater publicity for his cause. "Going to jail, serving a very light
sentence, and becoming a media icon - it's the best thing that's happened to
him," Mr Franklin said.
He said Bashir sensed his opportunity for greater power and influence as
Indonesia increasingly moved away from secularism
towards Islamic law.
The PhD student will screen extracts of the Bashir video, which has been
sub-titled, at Charles Darwin University in Darwin on Friday as part of an
academic talk on how the sermons give inspiration to the radical Islamist cause
to create a Caliphate, or greater Islamic state.
Dr Gunaratna said the radical nature of Bashir's current sermons showed that
Indonesia's legal system was still not equipped to police terrorism.
"The very fact that Abu Bakar Bashir is spreading hatred and ideological
extremism is testimony to the fact that Australia has failed in engagement with
Indonesia to build a robust Indonesian counter-terrorism legislation," Dr
Gunaratna said.
Bashir's address contained many direct challenges to Indonesian secularism. The
cleric urged his supporters to reject the laws of the nation's parliament and
said following state laws that contradicted Islamic Shariah law was an act of
"blasphemy".
"Don't be scared if you are called a hardliner Muslim," Bashir said. "It must be
like that. We can't follow human law that is in conflict with Allah's law."
________________
| It is significant and disturbing to me that I never
hear "moderate" Australian Muslims apologizing for, or distancing themselves from the
rhetoric used by their leaders such as this nutter in Indonesia, Abu Bakar
Bashir. I'm sure vast numbers of Muslims in Australia simply want a quiet life
in which to fulfill their ambitions and raise a family just like anyone
else, but their silence in response to hate filled language used by
their clerics is frustrating. Does this silence mean they agree with their leaders that we
Australians are "maggots". I fear so. Or the truth may be that they
are afraid of repercussions themselves if they criticize their leaders. Recently, our Prime Minister,
with media staged generosity, donated millions of our (mine included) dollars to
rebuild an Islamic school in Indonesia. Some of those children will probably be
taught the more
extreme teachings of Islam and sometime in the future possibly blow up more Australians
in the name of their religion. Are our leaders stupid or what? And why we
constantly give money and aid to Indonesians
who underneath the media staged handshakes and forced smiles, despise and
scorn us, I'll never know. I can only conclude that the truth of it is, our
politicians are afraid of them.
....Keygar |
TODAY'S QUIZ..... name the country where Islam has brought liberty,
individual freedom and lasting peace???
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