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| Southeast Asia |
| The Women of Jemaah Islamiah |
| 2004-01-14 |
| Sorry, no centerfolds. Long article from BBC detailing what we already guessed about family connections. EFL: Mira Augustina married her husband the same day she met him. It was the first time he had proposed, by way of the 21-year-old’s father. "We met at nine o’clock in the morning. We talked a little, and then he asked if I wanted to be his wife. And by 6pm we were married. Oh yes, it was a very happy day for me," Augustina said. Augustina was told her husband was an Indonesian named Mohammed Asseqof. In fact, authorities say he was an Iraqi man with a Kuwaiti passport named Omar al-Faruq, and he was reportedly a key link between al-Qaeda and the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which has been blamed for the Bali bombing. Augustina’s father, an alleged arms runner, introduced al-Faruq to JI activists, as well as to his daughter. Al-Faruq was captured last year, and the CIA removed him from Indonesia. His wife and their two daughters haven’t seen him since. "The marriage alliances are the glue that holds the organisation together. said Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group in Jakarta. "Oftentimes senior members of the organisation will offer their sisters or sisters-in-law to new and promising recruits, so that not only is someone drawn into the organisation, but they’re drawn into the family at the same time. "They’ve been in control of finances in some cases. They play a role as couriers, in ensuring that, particularly after imprisonment, communication among different members of the organisation is maintained," Ms Jones said. She said the women of Jemaah Islamiah for the most part remain behind the scenes. One Malaysian family illustrates this more than any other. The father trained in Afghanistan in the late 1980s, where he probably met the men who would later marry two of his daughters. One daughter, Paridah Binti Abas, is married to Ali Gufron, also known as Mukhlas, who was recently convicted of masterminding the 2002 Bali bombing. Paridah was pregnant with her sixth child when Ali Gufron was arrested in 2002. When their son was born, the couple decided to name him after one of their heroes, Osama. Unlike Mira Augustina, Paridah seems to have known what her husband was doing all along. She says even her young children support him. Paridah had a comfortable childhood, but her husband Ali Gufron grew up in a poor village. He became a preacher and fled to Afghanistan to fight for a better life. Paridah now lives in that village, far from Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. There, her ailing father-in-law and mother-in-law occupy a humble shack. They are parents to three men who have been found guilty of carrying out the Bali bombing - Ali Gufron and his younger two brothers, Amrozi and Ali Imron. Just one big happy family, like the Mansons. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Wasn't this a Playboy special two months ago? |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-1-14 5:11:38 PM |
| #1 Come on, Steve! I was expecting at least one picture of Paris Hilton al-Faruq biting a pillow or something... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-1-14 4:56:28 PM |