You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Southeast Asia
Muslim vigilante goes on trial
2003-05-08
EFL
A Muslim cleric, flanked by about 100 cheering followers dressed all in white, went on trial for ordering his stick-wielding followers to trash nightclubs and bars that offended his Islamic sensibilities.
"There's too much fun going on!"
Habib Rizieq, the head of the Islamic Defenders Front, has been charged with inciting violence and defaming the state for giving an Oct. 2002 speech in which he encouraged his followers to destroy amusement centers that he said violated Islamic law. Rizieq denied the charges.
"Nope. Wudn't me."
But if convicted, he faces up to six years in jail. After he told the court he was not guilty, the trial was adjourned until Monday. Rizieq is the latest Muslim radical to face justice in the country's efforts to crack down on leaders of a small but vocal radical Islamic movement. Rizieq and his brownshirts gang rose to prominence in 1999, and are seen by some Muslims as the answer to the country's weak or corrupt law enforcement. He claimed to be destroying immoral establishments that were allowed to operate with the support of the police. But detractors claimed he was only doing the bidding of the police, who were angry at establishments that refused to pay protection money. Following the Bali bombings, Rizieq's group briefly disbanded but reformed in February and began recruiting volunteers to fight in the Iraq War.
That went well, didn't it?
Hope they had a suitably high casualty rate...
Posted by:Steve

#2  that's the biggest nation in close proximity to australia.

makes me sleep sound at night, y'know, knowing I've got the fanatical religion of peace on my northern doorstep.
Posted by: Anon1   2003-05-08 19:16:14  

#1  Carrie Nation gets reincarnated.

The Hindus are laughing...
Posted by: mojo   2003-05-08 10:51:17  

00:00