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Indonesian cleric warns on verdict
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has accused the judges at his treason trial of trying to destroy the Islamic faith.
"The Islamic faith — it is I! Destroy me, you destroy it all! Hahahahaha!" (drool)
As they set the verdict date for next Tuesday, the 65-year-old cleric said the judges would face the "wrath of God" if they found him guilty.
"Yep. Gonna turn you all into pillars of salt!"
"If the panel of judges agrees with the evil accusations and indictment of the prosecutor, then it will mean that this court is lurching towards evil and tyranny," Mr Bashir said in his final defence plea.
Threatening the court is not considered a good move in most places.
Indonesian prosecutors have demanded a sentence of 15 years for Mr Bashir, who is on trial for his alleged involvement in a series of church bombings in which 19 people were killed more than two years ago. Prosecutors have also claimed that under Mr Bashir’s spiritual leadership, the Muslim militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) plotted to kill Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, with the wider aim of establishing an Islamic state in Indonesia. The cleric has denied the charges against him, saying he only engaged in a peaceful campaign to uphold traditional Islamic law. "I am not guilty. This trial is about my struggle for the imposition of Sharia law," he said.
"With me in charge, cuz I’m a holy man."
He has accused the United States and Israel of fabricating evidence linking him to Islamic terrorists. "This trial is fuelled by the enemy of God, the US Government and its allies," he told the court on Wednesday. "All of this is aimed at fracturing Islam so that it could be dictated and dominated," he said.
Works for me.
Posted by: Steve 2003-08-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=18036