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Wires - Wire - World
Monday, May. 09, 2011
Indonesia's firebrand cleric praises bin Laden
By ALI KOTARUMALOS - Associated Press E-Mail
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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Osama bin Laden was a "warrior" who will be rewarded in heaven for the "great sacrifices" he made for Islam, Indonesia's best-known radical cleric said Monday.

Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of helping set up a terror training camp in westernmost Aceh province, made the comments before proceedings at his ongoing trial in Jakarta.

Prosecutors on Monday demanded life in prison for the fiery 72-year-old cleric, saying he helped plan and fund terrorist activities in the world's most populous Muslim nation.



Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir talks to reporters from behind bars of a holding cell before the start of his trial at a district court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, May 9, 2011. Indonesia's best-known radical cleric says Osama bin Laden was a "great warrior" who will be rewarded in heaven "because of his big sacrifices for Islam."

- Tatan Syuflana /AP Photo
Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir waves to photographers during his trial at a district court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, May 9, 2011. Indonesia's best-known radical cleric says Osama bin Laden was a "great warrior" who will be rewarded in heaven "because of his big sacrifices for Islam."
- Tatan Syuflana /AP Photo
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Bashir, who was co-founder of the al-Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah that is blamed for some of the country's deadliest suicide bombings, had no immediate comment about the sentencing request.

Bashir had earlier told reporters that bin Laden was "a great mujahid (Muslim warrior)."

"If it's true that he's been killed, his face destroyed and disposed of in the sea, he will get a great honor from God and will get a great reward," he said.

Bashir, who has twice escaped terror charges, is now accused of helping set up, fund and recruit foot-soldiers for an Aceh-based terror cell that was allegedly planning Mumbai-style gun attacks on foreigners and the assassination of high-profile moderate Muslim leaders like President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The white-bearded, bespectacled cleric has denied involvement, but has said repeatedly he approved of its aim.

Chief prosecutor Andi Muhammad Taufik said Monday that testimony from dozens of witnesses during the course of Bashir's trial prove that he not only incited others but played an active role in terrorist activities.

Indonesia, a secular nation of 237 million with more Muslims than any other in the world, has made strides in fighting terrorism since the first and deadliest Jemaah Islamiyah-linked attack on Bali island.

More than 260 people have died altogether, many of them Western tourists.

But the country still faces pockets of radicalized Islamists and a small but increasingly vocal hard-line fringe has rattled nerves in recent months with violent attacks on minorities and police.



Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2011/05/09/1811996/indonesias-firebrand-cleric-praises.html#ixzz1LsaXy94u