Massive protest against Christian governor shakes Jakarta

Indonesia is the latest country to put on display what a loving and tolerant "religion" Islam really is.

The story comes from DAWN.

Massive protest against Christian governor shakes Jakarta

JAKARTA: A massive demonstration by tens of thousands of Indonesian Muslims against Jakarta’s governor turned ugly on Friday as hardliners burned police cars and clashed with officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.

The ugly scenes — just metres from the presidential palace — marred an otherwise peaceful rally against governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Christian accused of insulting Islam.

Police had earlier declared the much-hyped demonstration against Purnama, in which 50,000 protesters gathered at the city’s largest mosque before taking to the streets in a huge show of force — a largely peaceful affair.

But as night fell thousands of radicals turned violent, setting police cars ablaze and attacking officers who hit back with tear gas, water cannon and truncheons.

Authorities took no chances in the lead up to the protest, deploying 18,000 officers and extra soldiers across Jakarta amid fears that radical elements could infiltrate the march.

The demonstration appeared to be dying down by dusk as thousands began leaving the protest zone around city hall, the presidential palace and national monument.

But by nightfall riot police were put to the test as mobs of hardliners, draped in the white militant uniforms favoured by Indonesian extremist groups, ran amok, hurling bottles, stones and lighting fires as officers used shields for cover.

The protest was triggered by accusations that Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, insulted Islam by criticising opponents who used Quranic references to attack him ahead of an election in February.

Purnama apologised for the remarks, but his opponents have built a groundswell of support calling for his arrest and incarceration under Indonesia’s tough blasphemy laws.

“It’s no wonder people arise. Why when it comes to Ahok is the law not upheld?” deputy house speaker Fahri Hamzah, a prominent politician from an Islamic political party, told demonstrators earlier on Friday.

Anger at Purnama, Jakarta’s second Christian governor and the first from the country’s ethnic Chinese community, spread beyond the capital, with solidarity marches also held across Java and in cities as far away as Makassar in Indonesia’s east.

The military warned it was ready to back police if things turned ugly, with helicopters flying low over the city and extra soldiers stationed at key government buildings reinforced with razor wire and armoured vehicles.

Christian Children from West Papua Taken To Indonesia For Conversion To Islam

How many little souls have been stolen from Christ and imprisoned by Islam?

The story comes from The Sydney Morning Herald via The Religion of Peace.

Papuan children taken to Jakarta to be converted to Islam


When the parents of Demianus and Seth Gobay died in their small West Papua village of Nabire perhaps five years ago, not all their six children could afford to stay at school.

So when the boys' uncle, Jupri Gobay, approached with an offer of free schooling for the youngest, Demianus, the remaining children leapt at the chance. The offer had a catch, however. Demianus, who says he was just five years old at the time but was probably a little older, would be taken away to Jakarta. To him it seemed an adventure, but neither he nor his family had any idea that when he arrived at the port in Jakarta, the young Christian boy would be converted to Islam and taken to a strictly religious boarding school. There he would learn little else but how to chant Koran verses and preach his new religion.

His name would be changed to make him sound more Muslim, he'd be denied communication with his family and beaten if he strayed from the curriculum. Demianus shows a scar where he says he was burnt with a cigarette after one infraction.

A few years later, without Demianus's knowledge, his older brother, Seth, was also taken from his home and brought to Jakarta. Late last year, the two boys, now young teenagers, were finally reunited. They escaped their respective schools and decided to tell of their experiences.
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Their story is more evidence that Christian children are being taken from West Papua and converted to Islam - a practice officially denied after being revealed in Fairfax Media's Good Weekend magazine last year. It also makes clear for the first time that knowledge of the practice reaches high into the upper echelons of Indonesia's political elite.

The religious conversion of any young child is illegal in Indonesia, and the United Nations deems any transfer of a minor, even for education, as trafficking.

But an Islamic boarding school that both boys attended, As-Syafi'iyah, is run by Tutty Alawiyah, a former women's minister in the Suharto government and now a prominent preacher and educator.

The woman widely known as Ibu Tutty - who was too busy to answer queries about such a ''small thing'' - is highly politically connected in Jakarta. Indonesia's economic affairs minister, Hatta Rajasa, has been photographed meeting West Papuan children from her school and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadarma Ali presided over a recent celebration of the school's history. In another twist, Forestry Minister Zulkifli confirmed he had at one point fostered the small boy Demianus Gobay at his Jakarta mansion.

Demianus was a naive young village boy when he was taken away by his uncle on a ship called the Labobar. There were about 12 Papuan children on board, Demianus says, most of them girls and most of them also put there by his Uncle Jupri. The girls, Christian or Muslim, were required to wear headscarves.

On arrival at the port in Jakarta, Demianus says the group was taken to a nearby mosque. The children were made to dress in Islamic clothes and taught to say the ''syahadat'', the prayer to convert them to Islam. From then on, Demianus was told, his name would be ''Usman''. His original name was ''haram,'' or forbidden, the clerics told him.

From the port, the children were taken to different Islamic boarding schools - pesantrens - in Jakarta and the nearby city of Bogor. Demianus was taken to As-Syafi'iyah, run by Ibu Tutty.

For two years Demianus says he stayed at the school before he escaped, only to be caught again and taken to another pesantren in Bogor, about two hours' drive from Jakarta.

Some years later, Demianus' older brother, Seth, was also brought to Jakarta, also by Jupri Gobay. He says he and two girls were on the boat, and all three were converted soon after their arrival. Seth was given the name ''Umar''.

Like his brother before him, Seth was sent to As-Syafi'iyah, though Demianus had already left. At that stage, the brothers had little idea that they were sharing the same experience.

Years later, though, their accounts of life as Papuan village boys cooped up in a pesantren are almost identical. Both were bored with the lessons, which concentrated heavily on Koran recital, religious studies and chanting Arabic. They were punished for being late with their prayers, for leaving the pesantren and for watching TV or using the internet. ''They told us: you get naughtier if you go to an internet cafe,'' Seth says.

Demianus went to several different pesantren so it is difficult to tell which incident refers to which school. But he says he was beaten on the legs with bamboo, on the back of the head with a belt until he bled, and burnt with a cigarette if he strayed. He shows the circular scar on his hand. ''If we didn't read the Koran and pray at certain times of day, we were locked up and then we were burnt,'' Demianus says.

Seth, who only went to As-safi'iyah, says he also was beaten. Another punishment was to make children walk squatting for one or two circuits of a yard. The children had no access to telephones to call their families in West Papua.

The quantity of food was usually sufficient, they say, but there were sometimes weevils in the rice; and they were not allowed to eat pork - traditionally an important part of a West Papuan diet. When they were sick, ''we were just told to lay down, they didn't do anything for us,'' Demianus says. They were allowed out, but only for an hour at a time. If they were late returning, they were called in and punished ''with a belt on the legs''.

One of the teachers at As-safi'iyah, Usman Musa, told Demianus that when he grew up he ''should go back to Papua and Islamise the Papuans'', the boy recalls.

Ibu Tutty Alawiyah is famous in Indonesia for her work with children and orphans. She owns the As-safi'iyah pesantren, which was founded by her father, along with a number of other Islamic schools and a university. She was the women's affairs minister in the dying years of the Suharto government and in 2003 unsuccessfully put her hand up to be the presidential candidate for Suharto's former electoral vehicle, the Golkar party. Her staff declined several invitations for an interview, saying she was too busy. Ibu Tutty did not answer a list of written questions.

However, one staff member insisted that all the children who came to the school were already muslims, and they were sourced through another religious organisation, BKMT. But this also appears to be part of Ibu Tutty's Islamic empire, and an article on a website for recent converts called ''Mualaf Centre Online'', suggests she is not fussy about how recently her students were introduced to Islam. Describing a group of Papuan children aged from five to 18 as ''cheery-faced teens and smaller kids'' who were ''dark-skinned and with curly hair,'' the article says many were ''recent converts''. As-safi'iyah was one of the schools they were destined to be sent to.

As the ethnic Melanesian Christian majority in West Papua is gradually outnumbered both economically and socially by migration from other parts of Indonesia, Papuans see the removal and Islamisation of children as a direct assault on their identity.

But a Muslim bloc within Indonesia's national human rights organisation, Komnas HAM, has made it difficult for the body to mount a full investigation of the issues raised by Fairfax Media - including the existence of a small but active network of agents and middlemen who seek out vulnerable children and bring them to pesantren. It's unclear if these men are paid for their work, or who might be funding it, but there is a suspicion that oil money from Saudi Arabia may play a role.

The boys' uncle, Jupri Gobay, who took them to Jakarta, apparently makes regular trips to West Papua and according to Demianus, Jupri himself was trafficked to Java as a primary school child and converted and educated in Islam.

Approached for comment by Fairfax Media, Jupri Gobay says the only people he ''helped'' were family members, before terminating the call. Demianus does not know if anyone paid his uncle to take him to Jakarta.

Another key middleman, Fadzlan Garamatan, from the organisation AFKN, boasts of having brought thousands of Christian children and converting them, as well as undertaking mass conversions inside West Papua itself. Seth Gobay says he knew ''Ustad Fadzlan'' and had been to his house in suburban Jakarta during his time as a student at As-safi'iyah pesantren.

Ibu Tutty is not the only member of Jakarta's elite that Seth and Demianus Gobay met. In early 2012, Demianus escaped from a pesantren near Bogor and began living on the streets on the outskirts of Jakarta. He was being helped by a local family when two men came and asked if he wanted to go to school. The men worked for the Indonesian forestry minister, Zulkifli, who then took Demianus to live in his house in East Jakarta. Zulkifli confirmed these events when questioned by Fairfax Media, saying his own son, Ray, a university student, had found ''Usman'' and fostered him because ''my son has a generous heart''.

''During his staying with us I rarely chatted with Usman because I always came home late. But when I got the chance to talk to him, he didn't speak much,'' the minister told Fairfax Media. ''I heard his parents died after natural disaster hit Nabire … That's why I didn't want to ask him much about his life in Papua, about his parents … I didn't want to bring back his trauma.''

Demianus says he was at the house for about six months; Zulkifli says it was a matter of weeks, but they agree the minister sent the boy to a pesantren.

In high society in Jakarta, Papuan children are sometimes regarded as charity cases. In the past, East Timorese children were often taken by Indonesian army members as adjutants or household servants, and their presence raised the reputation of the carer. The same perhaps could now be said for young Papuan orphans.

At an event last year organised by Ibu Tutty with 350 orphans, Indonesian economic affairs minister Hatta Rajasa described helping orphans as ''one of our ways to obtain a ticket to heaven''. Zulkifli and bureaucratic reform minister Azwar Abubakar - all three are from the Islamic PAN party and part of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's governing coalition - were also in attendance. Asked if it had occurred to him that ''Usman'' and the others may have been victims of trafficking, Zulkifli says: ''I know nothing about trafficking, I only look after the forests.''

Demianus says that, during his time at the minister's house, Zulkifli and his family ''were all nice'' to him.

In December last year, the boys, now young teens, both escaped from their respective pesantrens and sought help from some West Papuan university students, who referred them to a Christian organisation.

After much thought, the boys decided in December to return to Papua, though Demianus remembered very little of his life in his home village, or any of the ceremonies of Christianity, including the Lord's Prayer.

At Christmas, they were taken back by university student Frans Tomoki. The boys are now doing catch-up classes at a village school to prepare them for junior high school.

Tomoki, meanwhile, believes a group of men in the western part of Papua, including Demianus and Seth's uncle Jupri Gobay, are still bringing children out of poor provinces. All the children are Christian, Tomoki says, destined for conversion.

Tomoki says that when it had become known he was helping Demianus and Seth, he received several threatening calls - one from Jupri Gobay, and two more from a man called Muhammad Kotouki, a parliamentary candidate for the strongly Islamic PKS political party in West Papua. The men were quite specific in their threats, Tomoki says. ''They said they would have me arrested for kidnapping.''

Indonesia jails Islamic terror leader for 10 years

From The Times of India.

Indonesia jails Islamic terror leader for 10 years


JAKARTA: An Indonesian court on Thursday jailed an Islamist militant with links to one of Asia's most notorious terror leaders for 10 years for recruiting people to militant-training camps.


Badri Hartono led an extremist group called al-Qaida Indonesia and was found guilty of sending recruits to a militant camp on a jungle-clad island known as a terror hotbed.

Hartono also provided shelter in 2009 to terror leader Noordin Mohammed Top, head of a violent splinter faction of the radical Jemaah Islamiyah network that carried out attacks on Western targets, prosecutors said.

Hartono "recruited and sent people to Poso," judge Musa Arif Aini told the Jakarta court, referring to an area on Sulawesi island where militant training camps are based.

"He has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of being involved in testing of explosive materials and militant training."

His group had also planned attacks on security forces, according to prosecutors.

Analysts said it was not clear whether Hartono's group was linked to the real al-Qaida, but many groups have copied the name of the terror outfit founded by Osama bin Laden.

Noordin, the self-proclaimed leader of "al-Qaida in the Malay Archipelago", was accused of masterminding attacks on Jakarta's Marriott hotel that killed 12 people in 2003, as well as the 2005 bombings on Bali that killed 20.

After a long and bloody hunt, he was finally killed in a raid outside Solo city in Central Java province in September 2009.

In previous hearings, Hartono denied being the leader of al-Qaida Indonesia but admitted that he knew Noordin. He said he accepted on Thursday's verdict and would not appeal.

Indonesia, which has the world's biggest Muslim population, has waged a crackdown on militant groups over the past decade since a string of terror attacks on Western targets.

The crackdown has been credited with weakening key networks.

Indonesian Sharia Police Detain 35 Women For Straddling Motorcycles

Oh boy.  The Sharia police are active in Indonesia and luckily for all true Muslims in the country, they were johnny on the spot the other day when they detained 35 women who were straddling motorcycles as they rode on the back of them.  Let's face it...when a woman rides on a motorcycle, her legs are going to spread and in that action, not only is she compromising Mohammed's view of her posture but her garb can ride up and there may just be a little ankle exposed! 

And Mo forbid that these women would actually wear PANTS while riding on a motorcycle!

It's a testament to the tolerance of Islam in Indonesia that these whores weren't all taken out and shot, right?

The story comes from the Jakarta Globe via The Religion of Peace.

35 Women in Aceh Netted for Straddling Motorcycles by Shariah Police


Thirty-five women in Aceh’s city of Lhokseumawe have been let off with a warning after the Shariah police caught them straddling a motorcycle and not wearing appropriate Islamic dress.

The Shariah police were conducting a raid on the main roads of Lhokseumawe on Friday, to monitor the administration’s bylaw that prohibits female passengers from straddling motorcycles.

“The aim of the raid today [Friday] is to uphold and inform people the regulation on straddling motorcycle issued by the mayor,” Irsyadi, the acting chief of the Lhokseumawe Shariah police, told the Atjehpost.com on Friday. “We also warned people who were not dressed up in an Islamic way. With what we did today, people will be more aware [of the regulation].”

While the women were not arrested, they were warned to not straddle a motorcycle again and to not wear tight outfits.

“As we saw today, many of our people were still straddling motorcycles, probably they don’t understand the regulation, that’s why we informed them,” Irsyadi explained.

Lhokseumawe mayor Suadi Yahya explained that the bylaw was expected to discourage women from wearing pants in public. He said that the bylaw was needed because he had seen people’s behavior and morals straying too far from Aceh’s Islamic cultural values.

“We want to save women from things that will cause them to violate Shariah law,” he said. “We wish to honor women with this ban, because they are delicate creatures.”

50% of All Children In Obama's Homeland of Muslim Indonesia Are Victims of Sex Abuse

The story comes from Jakarta Globe via The Religion of Peace.

50% of Kids Victims of Sex Abuse, Group Says


Almost half of Indonesia’s children have fallen prey to instances of sexual harassment, according to a nongovernmental organization advocating children’s issues.

The National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) claimed on Tuesday that about 50 percent of the country’s 21 million children had been victims of such abuse, though the figure excluded children who did not report their cases to the authorities.

From January to April, Komnas Anak received 127 reports of child abuse in the Greater Jakarta area alone.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of the commission, noted that East Jakarta had become the most unsafe area for children in the capital, having recorded the most cases of sexual harassment.

Komnas Anak said that 51 percent, or 67 reports, came from East Jakarta. Last year, the NGO received 2,637 reports on child abuse in Greater Jakarta, with 190 cases originating from East Jakarta.

“Jakarta had the highest instances [of sexual abuse cases] in 2012, with 663. East Jakarta is the most prone to sexual abuse against minors,” Arist said at his office in Jakarta.

He attributed the high rate of violence against children in East Jakarta to the area’s population density. He also said that about 80 percent of East Jakarta residents were in the medium to low income bracket.

“Low education level is also one of the factors,” Arist added.

The chairman praised the East Jakarta Police for their quick response and follow-up to every report they received.

“My hope is that the police will continue to solve all cases of sexual harassment against children in accordance with the law so that there can be a deterrent effect,” he said.

He cited the three East Jakarta areas that were most unfriendly to children as Kramat Jati, Ciracas and Cakung.

Arist also lamented First Lady Ani Yudhoyono’s lack of initiative to become an icon and defender of Indonesian children like Michelle Obama, the first lady of the United States, or Queen Elizabeth II, who he said always met with children from underprivileged families each time they visited another country.

“They always visit the poor people. The first lady should become an icon for the people, especially for children, because sexual crimes should be fought by not only one institution. It’s a common concern that needs to be fought together,” Arist said.

Neither the high number of cases of violence against children this year nor the declaration of 2013 as a year of national emergency over child sex abuse has prompted the first lady into action, he added.

Arist said that having such an icon was important for Indonesian children and society at large.

“There needs to be an icon. The first lady should have had the initiative to become the icon,” he said.

Given the first lady’s lack of initiative, Komnas Anak said it had decided to ask Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo to promote awareness about sexual violence against children.

On April 21, which coincides with Kartini Day, or National Women’s Day, Joko, along with Komnas Anak and other activist groups, will campaign to promote an end to violence against children in Jakarta.

'Tolerant' Indonesian Muslims Pelt Christians With Rotten Eggs For Wanting To Hold Christmas Mass

Is anyone noticing a trend here today?

The story comes from The Jakarta Globe via The Religion of Peace.

Rotten Egg Attack Mars Indonesia Christmas Celebration


More than 200 Indonesian Muslims threw rotten eggs at Christians wanting to hold a Christmas mass near land outside Jakarta where they plan to build a church, police and a witness said.

Some 100 Christian worshippers intended to hold a mass near empty land where they hope to build a church, about 30-kilometers east of the capital, in a project barred by district government and community members in 2009.

Since then, worshippers from the Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant have held Sunday services under scorching sun outside the property.

On Tuesday, however, local community members blocked the road near the land, Andri Ananta, a local police chief on Jakarta's outskirts, told AFP.

An AFP photographer witnessed furious locals — men and women wearing Muslim headscarf, with small children in tow — physically blocking the road and throwing rotten eggs at the gathering worshippers.

Ananta said police managed to convince the Christians to drop their plan and return home.

"We tried our best to avoid any clash and the Christians agreed to leave," he said, adding 380 police and military personnel including an anti-riot squad were deployed to the area.

Church leader Reverend Palti Panjaitan said the incident came after a Christmas Eve attack on Monday evening when "intolerant people" threw not only rotten eggs but plastic bags filled with urine and cow dung at them.

"Everything had happened while police were there. They were just watching without doing anything to stop them from harming us," he told AFP.

The country's high court last year overruled the district government's 2009 decision, but constant intimidation from Muslims in the area has delayed the church's construction, church officials said.

Indonesia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion but rights groups say violence against minorities including Christians and the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect has escalated since 2008.

Ninety percent of Indonesia's population of 240 million identify themselves as Muslim but the vast majority practice a moderate form of Islam.

It's All About Mohammed: Indonesian Catholic Schools May Be Closed Because They Don't Teach...(wait for it)....Islam

From the Friday WTF files.

The story comes from Asia News via The Religion of Peace.

Catholic schools in Central Java threatened with closure for not teaching Islam


Tegal District leaders and Catholic representatives hold special meeting. Sister Madeleine rejects accusations and reiterates her schools' policy, from kindergarten to high school. Muslim parents with children in Catholic schools agree, defending the latter's independence.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The demand to include Islamic teaching in Catholic schools is proving controversial again. A few months ago, the Education Department in Tegal District (Central Java) warned St Pius Catholic Schools to include Islamic courses for Muslim students.

Local authorities summoned Sister Madeleine, of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, to meet the district council to discuss the issue. The woman religious runs the Asti Dharma Foundation, which manages various St Pius schools, from primary to secondary as well as vocational training.

In yesterday's meeting with Tegal administration, the nun used all her eloquence and power of persuasion, backed by the moral and political support of Catholic lawyers and Fr Frans Widyanatardi Pr, who is in charge of Sacred Heart parish.

The row over Islamic education for Muslim students goes back a while, first raised by the Education Department and then the Religious Affairs Bureau, until local media, radio and TV, picked up the story and made it public.

The situation is critical because the sisters of the St Pius Catholic Schools have received threats and warnings, including the threat of having their schools shut down if they do not comply with the requests.

In response to critics, Sister Madeleine said that only two Muslim kids attend the St Pius Catholic Kindergarten, nine are in primary school, 12 in junior high and nine in high school, this out of a total school population of around 1,400 pupils, Fr Frans told AsiaNews.

Muslim parents have come out to defend the Catholic schools, saying they do not believe the schools would be closed for the lack of Islamic courses.

"Who are these people" who asked the Tegal Education Department to impose Islamic teaching for Muslim students, said Mr Charles Sinaga, a Muslim, who has a son in junior high, especially since the requests that were made remain anonymous or vague. For him, "only parents are morally entitled to make such requests."

Unlike other nations, religious education is compulsory in Indonesia. However, in Christian schools, Christianity, not other religions, has been taught.

The goal in any event is not to proselytise or "convert" non-Christian students. Even when pupils ask to be baptised, they still need their parents' consent.

In addition, those who do convert tend to be Sino-Indonesians who leave their ancestral religion, not Islam, for Christianity.

Indonesian Girl, 16 Years Old, Commits Suicide After Muslim Sharia Police Accuse Her of Prostitution

Sharia.  It's not just for gays anymore.

Another living soul on this earth falls to Islam and the rules of Sharia.  Another woman is gone forever.

The story comes from the Jakarta Globe via The Religion of Peace.

Aceh Teen’s Suicide Brings Shariah Scrutiny


The implementation of Islamic Shariah law in Aceh has again drawn criticism by those who say its implementation is heavily discriminatory toward women.

Sparking the latest outcry, a 16-year-old girl reportedly committed suicide this week after she was accused of prostitution and arrested by Aceh’s Shariah police.

The girl and her friends were watching a concert when she and one of her friends were arrested by officers of the Shariah police, known locally as Wilayatul Hisbah, in Langsa, Aceh, on Monday. The officers accused the two of being prostitutes based on how they were dressed.

“The arrest process, which is done publicly, will certainly make people feel humiliated,” Feri Kusuma of the Commission on Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said at a press conference on Thursday.

He added that women who failed to wear conservative Islamic garb in Aceh were often arrested violently, with that violence creating a culture of fear.

Dian Novita, of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), acknowledged Aceh’s special autonomy status, but urged the provincial administration to comply with Indonesian law, especially in matters related to human rights.

Under the morality-based Shariah code, those deemed in violation of Shariah law are often humiliated during the arrest process.

Komnas Perempuan said the suicide case should serve as a wake-up call for the Aceh administration to review its handling of those detained for Shariah violations, especially those cases involving minors.

“There are many cases of people wrongly arrested for how they dress, accused of prostitution. The process of [arrest] is incorrect, given there is no room for a child to communicate with the parents,” Dian said.

Kontras called on officials to revise the policy to prevent future tragedies.

“We have to continue gaining public support for the push for the policy to be revised in Aceh,” Feri said.

Kontras also criticized the broader implementation of Shariah law, which the commission said was only applied to civilians while police and military officers in violation of its dictates were only processed based on the Criminal Code.

Happy End To Ramadan! Muslims In Indonesia Take the Chance To Attack Christians

The article is from Asia News via The Religion of Peace.

Anti-Christian attacks mark the end of Ramadan in Java


Jakarta (AsiaNews) - In Indonesia, acts of religious intolerance have characterised this year's Idul Fitri, the celebration that marks the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting and praying. Over the week-end, extremist groups stopped a Catholic Mass in West Java. In Solo (central Java), a police station was hit by a grenade attack. Unlike previous years, Muslim celebrations are no longer free of violence. Still, most of the faithful respected an established tradition and invaded the streets on their scooters and other vehicles, honking, blowing horns and shouting "God is great."

A priest in Bandung said that a group of Muslim extremists prevented Mass celebration in a 'house church' in Majalaya, West Java. He said local police called him on his mobile, warning him of possible "incidents" or attacks against Christians attending Mass during Idul Fitri.

Local Catholic sources explained that for about "a dozen years" Mass has been celebrated inside a room in a plant in the industrial zone because the authorities "have not issued the appropriate papers" for a permanent structure.

Similar cases have been reported elsewhere in the country. The latest one involved the Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church in Parung (Bogor Regency) where the lack of a building permit has led to shuttering or demolition of the structure.

Idul Fitri celebrations have been tarnished by another attack, this one against a police station in Solo, the second largest city in central Java. Here, an unknown number of attackers threw a grenade inside the station as people celebrated in the streets. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, the fact that it even occurred during the religious celebration is interpreted as a "strong message" to the police.

It is unclear though, if this attack was a response to the arrest of Muslim leader Abu Bakar Baasyir. For Indonesia's intelligence chief, there were enough elements to find the unknown attacks, but for now, details would not be released.

Oh Look...Indonesian Boarding School Has a New Class....Bomb Making

Some stories you just can't make up when it comes to the world if jihad and islamic terrorism as we see today a report coming out from an incident of a bomb blast at an Indonesian boarding school. Well, apparently the head of the boarding school vamoosed right after the explosion as security officials found all kinds of bomb making materials and radical dvds and such at the school.

The good news is that they caught the guy, the bad news is we are left wondering how many "schools" across the Islamic world are in the same "education" business.

The story is from Adnkronos.

Indonesia: Police arrest Islamic boarding school chief after blast


Jakarta, 15 July (AK/Jakarta) - Police announced Friday they had arrested Abrori, head of the Umar Bin Khatab Islamic boarding school in the eastern Indonesia, where a bomb exploded earlier this week.

“Police arrested Abrori at the home of his parents in Khananga village, Bolo district, at around 12:30 local time [1:30 p.m. Jakarta time],” said Indonesian national police spokesman Untung Yoga Ana in text messages sent to journalists on Friday.

Police will transfer Abrori from the Bima district in West Nusa Tenggara to the provincial capital of Mataram for further investigation, Yoga added.

Abrori fled the boarding school after a bomb blast on Monday claimed the life of Suryanto Abdullah, alias Adnan Firdaus, a teacher and the school’s treasurer.

Police finally entered the school building on Wednesday after being obstructed by dozens of locals carrying sharp weapons and home-made bombs.

Police said they found bomb materials along with weapons and DVDs on Muslim holy war or Jihad.

More Arrests In Indonesian Islamic Terror Plot To Blow Up Christian Cathedral, TV Cameraman Had Been Recruited To Film Bombing

All I can say is that if this islamic terror plot had been successful, the carnage in Indonesia would have been mind boggling and now, it is coming out that even a TV journalist, a cameraman, had been recruited by the terrorists to film the entire bombing of the huge Christian cathedral.

From the report at Breitbart:

A TV news cameraman arrested in Indonesian bomb plots had been recruited to film and broadcast the group's terrorist acts, including a foiled Good Friday church attack, police said Saturday.

Global-TV cameraman Imam Firdaus was among 20 suspects arrested in a series of anti-terror raids this week, national police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar said.

The arrests led police to sprawling 3,000-seat Christ Cathedral Church in Serpong, a Jakarta suburb, where they uncovered and safely defused nine bombs, several weighing up to 175 pounds (80 kilograms).

Some were placed under a gas pipeline, and others in bags and plastic containers filled with high-explosive chemicals. The bombs were timed to explode Friday morning.

Just think about that...bombs place under a gas pipeline and then fast forward to a church filled with close to 3,000 Christians (not to mention how many people would be outside in the street). If this had been set off, we could have seen the largest number of dead in an islamic terror attack since 9/11.

This shows the patience of the islamists. For them to have planted all of these bombs unnoticed probably took months. The whole plot probably took over a year to coordinate and bring to the point where it was discovered. And of course, the question is whether this is the only target they had specified or is there another church or another building that has the same explosives already planted under it?

The AP writer of this article goes out of his way to explain at the end that Indonesia is a really moderate Muslim country and there's just a very few extremists...well, there's 20 of these "few" already arrested in this operation and it will probably continue to grow. It's interesting to see how the AP is burying its head in the sand like most of the appeasers here in the West.

20th arrest in Indonesian bomb plots is journalist


JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A TV news cameraman arrested in Indonesian bomb plots had been recruited to film and broadcast the group's terrorist acts, including a foiled Good Friday church attack, police said Saturday.

Global-TV cameraman Imam Firdaus was among 20 suspects arrested in a series of anti-terror raids this week, national police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar said.

"He is now being questioned to determine his role in the group," Amar said, adding that Firdaus was offered by another suspect, Pepi Fernando, who was believed to be the group leader.

Arya Sinulingga, news director of the Jakarta-based Global-TV, confirmed Firdaus worked there and expressed remorse over the involvement of media employees in terrorism.

The 20 arrests were made as part of an investigation of mail bombs sent last month in Jakarta to targets the perpetrators blamed for "sins against Islam."

The arrests led police to sprawling 3,000-seat Christ Cathedral Church in Serpong, a Jakarta suburb, where they uncovered and safely defused nine bombs, several weighing up to 175 pounds (80 kilograms).

Some were placed under a gas pipeline, and others in bags and plastic containers filled with high-explosive chemicals. The bombs were timed to explode Friday morning.

Terror suspects in Indonesia can be detained for investigation for up to seven days, then must be charged or released.

Families of the suspects did not want to speak to the media. Friends of Firdaus have been quoted as saying he attended an Islamic university but had secular beliefs.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been battling extremists since 2002 when al-Qaida-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

Several attacks since then targeted glitzy hotels, restaurants and an embassy, but they have been much less deadly and the last occurred two years ago.

Ninety percent of Indonesians are Muslim, though most practice a moderate form of the faith and abhor violence. A small, extremist fringe has become more vocal, and violent, in recent years.

Indonesia Is Hit With First Ever Suicide Bombing Inside a Mosque, 28 Wounded

Indonesia's Muslims "celebrated" a first today as a suicide bomber detonated his belt inside of a mosque wounding 28 people - this was the first mosque ever attacked in the country's history. Well, Indonesia, welcome to the new world of Islamic terror - it won't be your last mosque that gets hit. When the jihadis get the scent of smoke and blood and limbs, they always come back for more.

From the story at The Long War Journal:

A suicide bomber wounded 28 Indonesians in an attack inside a mosque during Friday prayers. The attack in a mosque is the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian country.

The suicide bomber detonated a waist bag packed with explosives inside the Cirebon police mosque at noontime prayers, a busy period. Eighty percent of the people who attend the mosque are said to be policemen. The Cirebon police chief was among those wounded in the blast.

The bomber wore "a jacket, a hat, and brought a prayer rug" to the service, according to The Jakarta Post. As prayers began, he moved forward and then detonated his vest.

Police have recovered the body of the suicide bomber and hope to be able to identify him. "The corpse was badly injured in the back, but the face was still identifiable," Indonesia's national police chief told The Jakarta Post.

Today's suicide bombing is the first recorded attack inside a mosque in Indonesia. Al Qaeda and allied groups such as the Taliban have carried out numerous attacks inside mosques in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.

We have to understand that right now, Islam is on an absolute rampage. Every continent and nearly every country is witnessing the height of islamic violence and rage - the death count looks like a Wall Street stock ticker.

We are seeing islamists killing Christians, we are seeing them kill fellow Muslims, we are seeing them kill women and children....hell, we are seeing them kill anything that bloody moves.

At what point in time are all of the countries of the world who are NOT dominated by Islam going to sit down and devise a solid plan of fighting off this scourge? At what point in time to men of the West decide to live instead of die?

Suicide bomber detonates inside Indonesia mosque


A suicide bomber wounded 28 Indonesians in an attack inside a mosque during Friday prayers. The attack in a mosque is the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian country.

The suicide bomber detonated a waist bag packed with explosives inside the Cirebon police mosque at noontime prayers, a busy period. Eighty percent of the people who attend the mosque are said to be policemen. The Cirebon police chief was among those wounded in the blast.

The bomber wore "a jacket, a hat, and brought a prayer rug" to the service, according to The Jakarta Post. As prayers began, he moved forward and then detonated his vest.

Police have recovered the body of the suicide bomber and hope to be able to identify him. "The corpse was badly injured in the back, but the face was still identifiable," Indonesia's national police chief told The Jakarta Post.

Today's suicide bombing is the first recorded attack inside a mosque in Indonesia. Al Qaeda and allied groups such as the Taliban have carried out numerous attacks inside mosques in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.

Jemaah Islamiyah, the al Qaeda affiliate in Southeast Asia, has previously targeted locations where foreigners would congregate, such as embassies, hotels, and night clubs.

Al Qaeda in Aceh, a Jemaah Islamiyah subgroup sponsored by Abu Bakar Bashir, JI's founder and spiritual leader, has also plotted and carried out attacks against Indonesian police and counterterrorism forces. Bashir is currently on trial for supporting Al Qaeda in Aceh and can receive the death penalty if convicted.

Today's attack takes place two weeks after Pakistani officials captured Umar Patek, a top Jemaah Islamiyah operative and one of the most wanted members of the group. Patek is believed to have traveled to Pakistan to meet with high-level al Qaeda commanders.

Indonesian Anti-Terror Forces Arrest Former Head of Jemaah Islamiyah

The Indonesians have been cracking down on the islamic terrorists in their country pretty hard recently....I claim it is because Barack Hussein Obama cancelled his trip there twice due to the lack of security in the country (I think the White House line at the time was that Obama had to stay home for important domestic issues) but today, the leader of the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah was apprehended due to his link to a new terror group that had formed. Abu Bakar Bashir spent a few years in prison for his links to the Bali bombings but got out in 2006 - and of course, like any other good islamic terrorist leader, he got out of prison and immediately set about starting a new terror group and beginning plans to attack the sitting government.

You know, there's some people you are just better off lining up in front of a firing squad.

Here's the story from DAWN.

Radical Indonesian cleric arrested for terrorism


JAKARTA: Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, once imprisoned for his links to the terror group behind the Bali bombings, was arrested Monday for alleged involvement with a new militant network.

His lawyer, Muhammad Ali, said the arrest took place on Monday morning in West Java’s Ciamis district.

Bashir is best known as the founder and spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group responsible for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia's resort
island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.

He spent several years in prison for his involvement with the group, but was released in 2006
.
He was arrested Monday for alleged involvement with a new terror cell in Indonesia’s westernmost province of Aceh, the lawyer said.

Authorities discovered the new group in February and said it was allegedly planning to assassinate the president and carry out Mumbai-style attacks targeting foreigners.

Dozens of suspects linked to that cell, which called itself Al-Qaeda in Aceh, have been arrested or killed in recent months. Rumors have circulated for weeks that Bashir, a fiery preacher known for propagating hatred against foreigners, was next on the list.

AP Writer Whines That Indonesia's "Detachment 88" Anti-Terror Force Is Too Violent With Islamic Terrorists

This AP writer must be vying for a job over at MSNBC or the New York Times as he whines and cries and rolls his little hands into balled fists describing just how mean and violent Indonesia's "Detachment 88" anti-terror force is to islamic terrorists in the country. That name, Detachment 88, is pretty cool in that it comes from a reference to the 88 Australians killed in the al Qaeda bombing in Bali years ago - a terror attack masterminded in and coming from Indonesia.

Anyway, let's look at some of this pathetic AP reporter's rambling and snot dripping outcries, from the article at Breitbart:

The anti-terror squad hurtled from a white van on a bustling street as their quarry—three terror suspects—stepped out of a taxi.
They shoved one to the ground and when he tried to shake free, shot him in the head. Another died from a bullet to the chest. The third was led away, his hands tied behind his back and his shirt covered in blood, only to turn up dead hours later.

That's not unusual in Indonesia, where U.S.-trained forces at the core of the anti-terror fight have a startling kill-to-capture ratio: One suspect killed for every four arrested.

The deaths not only raise human rights concerns, but risk fueling Islamist propaganda and tarnishing what has been a highly praised campaign that has seen hundreds of suspects arrested and convicted. The killings also mean the suspects cannot be questioned and there is no chance to gather intelligence on their networks.

However, witnesses of the May 12 operation in east Jakarta told The Associated Press that none of the three suspects appeared to carry a weapon or to put up much resistance.

Police deny that, saying they were armed and dangerous.

Oh, and what's a good Leftist propaganda story like this without some "eye witness" accounts of the horror inflicted on the poor terrorists (who more than likely just came from an IED bombing that killed and mutilated young children and women):

Dina, a 33-year-old cigarette vendor, said she watched as a police officer pounced on one of the men, who was wearing jeans and a striped T-shirt. When he tried to break free, another officer raised his gun and shot a single bullet into the suspect's head. He died in front of her, blood gushing from the wound.

"It was horrible," she said. "The sounds coming from his mouth reminded me of a goat being slaughtered."

Anti-terror police grabbed another man and, when he tried to get away, smashed a rock into his face, said Edi Suyatno, a bus conductor. The officers tied the suspect's hands behind his back with a black rope and threw him into the van, he and other witnesses told the AP.

"He was bleeding heavily ... but he was alive when he left here," Suyatno said.

Police later said that man, too, had been killed by a bullet wound sustained during the raid.

Now, I don't get it. Am I REALLY supposed to be outraged by this? Am I REALLY supposed to be sympathetic to islamic terrorists? Fuck 'em. I'd rather see the kill to capture rate go from 1 in 4 to 4 out of 4. These aren't human beings - these are wild animals, rabid animals, minions of Satan.

How many tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives to islamic terrorists over the past few years and this asswipe AP reporter actually expects his readers to shed a tear for the treatment of these murderers?

Only the diehard Communists at the keyboard of our media could try to pull this crap off - and all I can do is point it out to those who stumble upon my blog and hope that at least most of you see it for what it is...insanity.

Indonesia's anti-terror campaign under fire


JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The anti-terror squad hurtled from a white van on a bustling street as their quarry—three terror suspects—stepped out of a taxi.
They shoved one to the ground and when he tried to shake free, shot him in the head. Another died from a bullet to the chest. The third was led away, his hands tied behind his back and his shirt covered in blood, only to turn up dead hours later.

That's not unusual in Indonesia, where U.S.-trained forces at the core of the anti-terror fight have a startling kill-to-capture ratio: One suspect killed for every four arrested.

The deaths not only raise human rights concerns, but risk fueling Islamist propaganda and tarnishing what has been a highly praised campaign that has seen hundreds of suspects arrested and convicted. The killings also mean the suspects cannot be questioned and there is no chance to gather intelligence on their networks.

Indonesia was thrust into the front lines of the war on terror in 2002, when al-Qaida-linked nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, many of them tourists. There have been several attacks on Western targets since then, but all have been far less deadly—and the most recent was a year ago.

The country's elite Detachment 88 anti-terror unit has received much of the credit.

Named for the 88 Australians killed in the Bali bombings, the force has been at the forefront of the fight against terror. Its officers have taken on suspects holed up in houses booby-trapped with explosives. Other wanted men have been heavily armed, wearing suicide vests as they fired or threw shrapnel bombs from their hideouts.

However, witnesses of the May 12 operation in east Jakarta told The Associated Press that none of the three suspects appeared to carry a weapon or to put up much resistance.

Police deny that, saying they were armed and dangerous.

Authorities have identified only one of the suspects: Maulana, who was shot in the chest, was accused of involvement in a jihadi training camp in Aceh province and a failed plot on Indonesia's deputy house speaker, said National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri.

The other two men remain unidentified—and, it now appears, may have been implicated simply because they were riding with Maulana in the taxi. Police claim they were linked to the Aceh cell as well.

Dina, a 33-year-old cigarette vendor, said she watched as a police officer pounced on one of the men, who was wearing jeans and a striped T-shirt. When he tried to break free, another officer raised his gun and shot a single bullet into the suspect's head. He died in front of her, blood gushing from the wound.

"It was horrible," she said. "The sounds coming from his mouth reminded me of a goat being slaughtered."

Anti-terror police grabbed another man and, when he tried to get away, smashed a rock into his face, said Edi Suyatno, a bus conductor. The officers tied the suspect's hands behind his back with a black rope and threw him into the van, he and other witnesses told the AP.

"He was bleeding heavily ... but he was alive when he left here," Suyatno said.

Police later said that man, too, had been killed by a bullet wound sustained during the raid.

The two unidentified men were buried last week in a cemetery that is often used by the government for the homeless and other nameless victims, with simple stones marking their graves.

The only people in attendance were a few Muslim activists, who said the men deserved a proper Islamic burial. Maulana's body was returned to his village.

Munarman, a lawyer who often represents militants and is publicly sympathetic to their cause, questioned the police methods, especially when it came to the two unidentified men. He expressed outrage, saying a human rights tribunal should be set up to investigate "extra judicial killings."

"Police didn't even know their names!" he said. "These guys shot to kill. If they were worried, why didn't they just immobilize them, shoot them in the leg or shoulder?"

All major terror strikes in Indonesia since the 2002 Bali bombings have been blamed on a violent splinter group of Jemaah Islamiyah that was headed by Noordin Mohammad Top. He was shot dead in a Detachment 88 operation in September.

But no recent attack compared in scale to the Bali attacks, prompting diplomats, analysts and authorities to declare the fight against terrorism a success.

The arrests and convictions of suspects helped convince the public that Islamic militants were behind the violence.

Just as experts were saying Indonesia's threat level was significantly reduced, however, Detachment 88 discovered a previously unknown group in Aceh.

When black-clad forces raided a training camp in February in a barrage of gunfire that left three officers dead, they found a huge cache of M-16s, revolvers and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Investigations revealed the militants had been plotting a Mumbai-style terrorist attack and high-profile assassinations.

Many of the 84 suspects captured and 21 killed in the last year were linked to the Aceh group.

"In every case, when you kill someone, you lose valuable information," said Sidney Jones, an expert on Southeast Asian extremists.

She noted that Dulmatin, the region's most-wanted suspect before he was shot dead in a Jakarta Internet cafe three months ago, held key information about funding, training and cross-border links.

Photos taken of the 39-year-old bomb-making expert after the siege showed Dulmatin slumped over a computer with a pistol in his lap, prompting some critics to say he could have been taken alive by Detachment 88.

"There needs to be, at the very least, an internal review by the police of each case to determine if the threat justifies the shooting," Jones said.

Indonesia's security forces were accused of mass killings and widespread abuses during ex-dictator Suharto's 32-year reign. In 2005 the United States agreed to lift a trade embargo imposed over concerns about military human rights violations—partially to reward Indonesia's efforts to fight terrorism.

A government official who helps oversee the country's terror fight insisted there is no shoot-to-kill policy, as some Muslim activists have suggested.

"It is very difficult to take someone who could possibly be carrying an explosive vest and give him, as in the U.S., the Miranda rights," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Still, he acknowledged that officers need more training in non-lethal methods. "But the money just isn't there."

Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis, deputy national police spokesman, said troops only use deadly force when there is no other option.

"We can't take any risks," he said. "When they fight us, we have to take action."

Obama's Delayed Trip To Asia...It Ain't Because of the Healthcare Bill

Yesterday, we saw this announcement from the White House (from Fox News):

President Obama has pushed back his trip to Indonesia for three days to work with beleaguered Democrats on trying to wrap up a health care overhaul.

Oh really? Now, don't think for a minute that this delay in Obama leaving isn't a big deal - you have to understand that this trip is a logistics nightmare with several countries involved with minute by minute organizational and security issues that have been planned for months and months and for Obama to delay the trip by three days, causes havoc for all involved...yet we are supposed to believe that Obama is doing it just because of the healthcare bill negotiations.

I think not.

Read this excerpt from an AFP story and you will see where I am going with this:

PEMALANG, Indonesia — Slain Islamist bomb-maker Dulmatin was buried in his Indonesian home village Friday as a large crowd of mourners chanted "God is greater" and acclaimed him as a holy warrior.
The crowd of more than 2,000 shouted "Allahu Akbar" as the Jemaah Islamiyah bomb specialist was laid to rest in the village of Pemalang in Central Java, watched by a heavy police presence, an AFP photographer said.

Dulmatin had a 10-million-dollar US bounty on his head. He was accused of being a mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

About two hours after the burial, the Detachment 88 counter-terrorism squad were involved in a fresh gunfight with suspected Islamist militants in Aceh province. Two terror suspects were shot dead and another eight arrested, said national police chief detective Ito Sumardi said.
A police source told an AFP correspondent at the scene that the gunfight started when police stopped a minivan on the street.
Two men jumped out of the vehicle and opened fire while trying to escape. The two were shot dead after a brief exchange of fire, the source said.
The remaining passengers in the vehicle were rounded up. Police also seized five rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and 25 bullets.

Oh, and there is more...much more in that Indonesia is panicking ahead of this visit by President Obama. Look at this from The Straits Times:

SUSPICION is mounting that the fugitive militant Umar Patek may be in Aceh, after word spread on Wednesday that the Indonesian counter-terrorism force was hot on his trail.
Umar was a key leader of the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in Indonesia until he fled to the southern Philippines in 2003.
He is thought to have returned to Indonesia last year with another fugitive JI member, Dulmatin, the 40-year-old bomb-maker who was shot dead on Tuesday in West Jakarta.

So, it is my contention that this Obama trip to Indonesia and then on to Australia has been delayed, not because of the healthcare bill, but because of security issues for Obama being in Indonesia.

Obviously, Barack Hussein Obama wants to make a big deal out of this visit to Indonesia so he can once again "connect" with Muslims around the world and he can put out a speech about his childhood days at the madrassa in Indonesia - and Obama does NOT want to have to cancel this visit but at the same time, as you can see, Indonesia ain't exactly the safest place for an American President with U.S. bounties galore out there on leaders of Jemaah Islamiah.

It's my guess that U.S. security officials and the Secret Service are not comfortable that Obama will be safe in Indonesia - and the situation is only worse now with the death of Dulmatin because it would be the perfect way for those of Jemaah Islamiah to avenge his death. A dead U.S. President would martyr Dulmatin to the nth degree.

I think it is entirely possible that there will be an announcement this week that Obama's trip will "change" and that he will skip the visit to Indonesia and just go to Australia...odd isn't it...that a U.S. President who has done nothing since the first day of his Presidency but reach out for compromise and appeasement to islamic terrorists, would find himself the target of their vengeance. Perhaps Barack Hussein Obama is realizing what I have said all along...it ain't because we are Americans, it ain't because we are from the West, it ain't because of what we did in the past...it's simply because we are infidels.

Slain Islamist militant leader buried in Indonesia


PEMALANG, Indonesia — Slain Islamist bomb-maker Dulmatin was buried in his Indonesian home village Friday as a large crowd of mourners chanted "God is greater" and acclaimed him as a holy warrior.

The crowd of more than 2,000 shouted "Allahu Akbar" as the Jemaah Islamiyah bomb specialist was laid to rest in the village of Pemalang in Central Java, watched by a heavy police presence, an AFP photographer said.

"The funeral has gone well, with no problems or difficulties. Everybody in this village came and helped us," Dulmatin's eldest brother Azam Ba'afut said after the body was driven by ambulance from the Indonesian capital.

"This shows that my brother was a good man," he said.

Dulmatin, 39, and two other people were shot dead Tuesday in a gunfight with counter-terrorism forces on the edge of Jakarta. It was the latest in a series of raids just ahead of a visit to Indonesia by US President Barack Obama.

Dulmatin's identity was confirmed the next day by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who called the Al-Qaeda-trained extremist "one of the top Southeast Asian terrorists".

Dulmatin had a 10-million-dollar US bounty on his head. He was accused of being a mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

"He was not a terrorist but a holy warrior," another relative, Sahid Ahmad Sungkar, was quoted by Antara news agency as saying.

"His death is the will of Allah, who will decide who's right or wrong," he added.

Dulmatin's death came after Indonesian security forces conducted several raids nationwide following the discovery of an extremist training camp in Aceh province in late February.

About two hours after the burial, the Detachment 88 counter-terrorism squad were involved in a fresh gunfight with suspected Islamist militants in Aceh province. Two terror suspects were shot dead and another eight arrested, said national police chief detective Ito Sumardi said.

A police source told an AFP correspondent at the scene that the gunfight started when police stopped a minivan on the street.

Two men jumped out of the vehicle and opened fire while trying to escape. The two were shot dead after a brief exchange of fire, the source said.

The remaining passengers in the vehicle were rounded up. Police also seized five rifles, a semi-automatic pistol and 25 bullets.

JI, an Al-Qaeda inspired group whose mission is to create a Muslim caliphate across Southeast Asia, is blamed for multiple incidents across Indonesia including the 2002 carnage in Bali and attacks on Jakarta hotels last year.

Bali Bombing Mastermind, Dulmatin, Killed In Indonesia Raid

Okay, I'm a little gunshy about announcing the death of a islamic terror big fish about now but here goes... the mastermind behind the Bali bombings, Dulmatin, was killed just outside of Indonesia's capital of Jakarta today during a security forces raid. Here's the report from Times Online:

The alleged mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings is believed to have been killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian police on the outskirts of Jakarta today.
Dulmatin, nicknamed "the Genius", was an explosives expert who was believed to have set off one of the Bali bombs with a mobile phone, as well as helping to assemble the massive car bomb used in the attacks, which killed 202 people.
The shoot-out happened during a morning raid on a house in Pamulang city, west of the Indonesian capital. Police said the raid, which comes two weeks before a visit by President Obama, targeted Dulmatin and two other senior members of the militant Islamist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah.
Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, has launched a series of raids across the archipelago following the discovery of a militant Islamic training camp in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, last month. Police have detained 21 suspected members of the group in Aceh and Java, while two have been killed.

I don't know about you but doesn't it seem a wee bit coincidental that this mastermind of the horrific Bali bombings that took place way back in 2002 gets located and killed just a couple of weeks before the visit by Barack Hussein Obama?

Anyway, there are a lot of families of the Bali bombing victims who will now feel at least a bit of justice has been served out ....especially families of the victims from Australia who were hit so hard in that infamous nightclub bombing. And if this turns out to be a "mistaken identity" by the Indonesian officials, I think I'll throw my hands in the air and blog about Rahm Emanuel for a week.

Bali bomber mastermind Dulmatin 'killed in shoot-out'


The alleged mastermind behind the 2002 Bali bombings is believed to have been killed in a shoot-out with Indonesian police on the outskirts of Jakarta today.

Dulmatin, nicknamed "the Genius", was an explosives expert who was believed to have set off one of the Bali bombs with a mobile phone, as well as helping to assemble the massive car bomb used in the attacks, which killed 202 people.

The shoot-out happened during a morning raid on a house in Pamulang city, west of the Indonesian capital. Police said the raid, which comes two weeks before a visit by President Obama, targeted Dulmatin and two other senior members of the militant Islamist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah.

Indonesia's counter-terrorism unit, Detachment 88, has launched a series of raids across the archipelago following the discovery of a militant Islamic training camp in Aceh, on the island of Sumatra, last month. Police have detained 21 suspected members of the group in Aceh and Java, while two have been killed.

Tito Karnavian, the anti-terrorism police chief, confirmed that the man killed was linked to a militant group in Aceh.

"Yes, he is the culprit, the one that sent people to Aceh. He's a big name," Mr Karnavian told reporters.

A police source said that the man was believed to be Dulmatin, one of the most wanted senior leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah. There was no official confirmation on the man's identity but police are due to hold a press conference later today.

Gunfire was heard as police raided a two-storey building at about 11am (0400 GMT) in Pamulang, witnesses told local television.

A television news station quoted witnesses as saying that a man and woman arrived by motorbike at a complex made up of shops and houses. The man, aged between 30 and 40, went into an internet café while the woman went into a salon next door. About ten minutes later members of Detachment 88 raided the internet café, shots were heard and a body bag was taken out. The woman was taken into custody along with a manager of the complex.

"The body of a man has just been taken by an ambulance to a police hospital," a television report quoted a witness as saying.

Dulmatin was the last of the Bali bombers to evade capture. He is believed to have been living in hiding in the Philippines and had been linked to the separatist organisation Abu Sayyaf in the south of the country.

The one-time car mechanic is widely believed to have been the protégé of Azahari Husin, another suspected mastermind of the 2002 Bali attacks and other bombings, who was killed by police in 2005.

Under Husin's guidance Dulmatin became one of the few Jemaah Islamiyah militants who was able to assemble and explode large chlorate and nitrate bombs, according to the Asia Pacific Foundation.

He is also known to have attended a militant training camp in Afghanistan, returning to Indonesia in the mid-1990s, where he is thought to have been a regular visitor at an Islamic school in Solo founded by Abu Bakar Ba'shir, Jemaah Islamiyah's spiritual leader

New Sharia Edict In Indonesia Sentences Adulterers To Death By Stoning

Once again, the "Religion of Peace" has enacted sharia laws in Indonesia that will return civilization back to 600 A.D. - a new special sharia edict enacted by hard line muslim politicians in Indonesia have set the penalty for adultery as death by stoning.

From the story at Times Online:

Adulterers will be stoned to death under draconian new laws passed in the Indonesian province of Aceh yesterday.
Hardline Muslim politicians in the semi-autonomous region unanimously passed the Sharia edict, under which single people will also be given 100 lashes for pre-marital sex, just weeks before a new, more moderate government dominated by the Aceh Party is due to take power.

Now, it's important to realize here that this isn't just some nutjob islamic cleric calling for this action - this is a political body of islamists MAKING THIS THE LAW!

In case anyone hasn't noticed, it is the year 2009 on planet earth and yet, we still see people of this world STILL submitting to the rants and raves of a lunatic from the 7th century - this is the power of the ideology of islam. This is the supposed "religion" that has sent children to die with suicide belts on, that has glorified honor killings and female circumcision and blowing up hundreds of people in an open air market. This is no religion...it is a political ideology that terrorizes its people from birth. Here's the full story:

Indonesian adulterers to be stoned to death

Adulterers will be stoned to death under draconian new laws passed in the Indonesian province of Aceh yesterday.
Hardline Muslim politicians in the semi-autonomous region unanimously passed the Sharia edict, under which single people will also be given 100 lashes for pre-marital sex, just weeks before a new, more moderate government dominated by the Aceh Party is due to take power.
Although the administration of Governor Irwandi Yusuf had opposed the legislation, when the chairman of the 69-seat regional parliament asked if the bill could be passed into law its members answered in unison: "Yes, it can."
The legislation, which has drawn immediate criticism from human rights groups, comes at a difficult time for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as he prepares to be sworn in for his second term in office.

Widely praised for restoring democracy to Indonesia, he now risks seeing his country once more viewed by the international community as a heartland of radical Islamism.
The stoning law is the most recent, and most draconian law to be introduced since 2001, when Jakarta allowed Aceh to replace Indonesia's criminal code with Sharia, partly to appease hardliners in the province.
Although the early regulations brought in under Sharia were relatively moderate, observers said they have seen a gradual tightening of the laws, most recently in 2006 when caning was introduced as punishment for women who did not wear headscarves.
Dozens of public canings have been carried out by the Sharia police since, although it seems to be more a symbolic than physical punishment. Strict regulations controlling the angle and power of the cane stroke protect the women from injury.
But human rights activists point out it would be impossible similarly to protect a woman who was sentenced to be stoned.
"They take pride in not hurting women when they cane them, but stoning is something very different," a human rights worker who asked not to be named told The Times. "You can't say you're not physically harming a woman when you're stoning her to death.
"The future is very bleak," she added. "In Aceh, once you give out this sort of candy out you can't take it back."
The new law also imposes tough sentences and fines, to be paid in kilograms of gold, for rape and paedophilia, and severe prison terms and public lashings for other "morally unacceptable"behaviour such as homosexuality.

Breaking: Al Qaeda Group Hits Two Jakarta, Indonesia Hotels With Suicide Bombs ...8 Dead and Counting

Apparently more islamists in the world decided not to take up President Obama's call from Egypt to all get together in a big crowd and do some group hugs as the terror group, Jemayah Islamiya, which is linked to al Qaeda, is suspected of carrying out simultaneous bombings at two hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. This article from ABC News reports eight days but I just saw an update on television that says it is not nine.

Look at this sinister quote from the article:

"There were several perpetrators." Wahyono told reporters, "They were disguised as guests and stayed in room 1808."

Couple of things - first, this is the same al Qaeda pattern we have seen all over the world of targeting Western-based hotels and second, this group, Jemayah Islamiya, is the same group responsible for the horrific Bali bombings. Lately, the Indonesian government has been cracking down on terror in the country and it seems the terrorists have decided to send a message back to the government. The message to the rest of the world is that Allah is Great. :spit:

Fatal Jakarta Blasts: Top U.S. Terror Experts Point to al Qaeda-Connected Group

Coordinated bomb blasts ripped through two luxury hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, today leaving eight dead and over fifty wounded.

Indonesian security officials believe the attacks may have been carried out by suicide bombers. Jakarta's chief of police told reporters today that the suspected bombers were guests at one of the hotels.
Maj. Gen. Wahyono said the suspects stayed on the 18th floor of the Marriott hotel where un-detonated explosives were found.
"There were several perpetrators." Wahyono told reporters, "They were disguised as guests and stayed in room 1808."
The Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott, both frequented by foreigners, were hit within a few minutes of each other.
The death of one foreigner -- a New Zealand national -- has been confirmed and as many as thirteen others were among the wounded, including nationals from the United States, Australia, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Norway and South Korea.
"The State Department is working to help American citizens injured in the blast" according to a statement released earlier today.
This is the first major attack in Indonesia for four years.
A visibly upset Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, addressed his people in a televised speech and vowed to arrest and try the perpetrators.

"This action was carried out by a terrorist group, though it is too early to say if it is the same network." He said refering to the Islamic extremist group Jemayah Islamiya that has been held responsible for previous attacks in the country.
Senior U.S. officials ,who dealt directly with issues of terror in Indonesia, also say the bombings bear the trademarks of the al Qaeda-connected group Jemayah Islamiya, whose top bomb-maker, Noordin Top, has been at large and feared preparing a new attack.