Evidence Found for More Attacks on Christians
20 August 2003 Church service schedules have been found in a raid on terror suspects. The discovery was made days after the alleged mastermind of the Bali bombings shouted during his trial “We are ready to win the crusade against Christians! We will win!” Westerners and local Christians are clearly considered one and same enemy. Between 4-11 July police arrested seven suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asia terror group with links to al-Qa’ida. In their raids they discovered three books containing the schedules of various church services and enough explosives for a blast ten times the size of the Bali bombs, which killed 202 people on 12 October last year. On 2 July, whilst looking at relatives and survivors of the attack gathered in the courtroom, alleged Bali mastermind Imam Samudra proclaimed that the crusade against Christians was about to be won. He was led away shouting “Allah akbar”. It is worrying that he was clearly identifying the westerners who died in the bombings as Christian. For most Islamic militants western and Christian are virtually synonymous and local Christians in Muslim countries have often born the brunt of extremist anger at the actions of western governments. In a later appearance he said of the Bali attack “If my actions touched the unbelievers … then that is justified in the Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad.” He continued that because of innocent Muslim deaths in Palestine and Iraq, Muslims had the right to kill westerners at will. PROGRESS AGAINST JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH Samudra admitted involvement in the bombings but has recanted a confession implicating Abu Bakir Bashir in the blasts. Bashir is also on trial; he is accused of treason and of trying to set up an Islamic state in Indonesia. He is believed to be the spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiyah and is implicated in the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombings which killed 19 people. The White House announced on 14 August that the leader of operations for the group, Riduan bin Isamuddin has also been captured. Otherwise known as Hambali, he was once described by President Bush as “one of the world’s most lethal terrorists”. A further suspect, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, dubbed the Laughing Bomber, was found guilty and sentenced to death on 7 August. Even though a few alleged members of Jemaah Islamiyah have been arrested by the Indonesian authorities, there appears to be a reluctance to openly condemn and clamp down on the group as a whole. The name of the group means simply “Islamic community”; the authorities fear a political backlash from Muslims if they are seen to be targeting Islam in response to western pressure. The group was probably responsible for the bombing of the Marriot Hotel in Jakarta on 5 August and, while it is thought that the Bali bomber died by accident in his attack, this was clearly an intentional suicide attack, the first in Indonesia. PRAY Pray that the Indonesian authorities will not give up in their attempts to bring terrorists to justice. Pray for God’s protection on the Christian community in Indonesia. BARNABAS FUND E-MAIL NEWS SERVICE The Barnabas Fund’s e-mail news service provides our supporters with short urgent news briefs and prayer requests for suffering Christians around the world. Please do share these news items with your Christian friends and churches. All news items are available on our website in a more colourful user-friendly presentation format which you can access, print and pass on. If you are not already receiving these news briefs directly from the Barnabas Fund and would like to, please contact us with your name, postal and e-mail addresses, and details of the church you attend. The Barnabas Fund, The Old Rectory, River Street, PEWSEY, Wiltshire, SN9 5DB, UK, Tel 01672 564938, Fax 01672 565030, E-mail info@barnabasfund.org Web www.barnabasfund.org