Muslim Cleric Sentenced, Barely

An Indonesian court has sentenced Abu Bakar Bashir, leader of an Indonesian faction that seeks to impose Sharia, Muslim law, in that country, to only four years in prison. The court found Bashir guilty of various offenses, but found insufficient evidence to conclude that he is the head of Indonesia’s principal terrorist organization, Jemaah Islamiyah. Bashir denies that the terrorist group exists.
The courtroom was packed with Bashir’s supporters (see our post below), who greeted the verdict with jubiliation and shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” Some of Bashir’s supporters displayed a banner with this not very reassuring slogan: ” “Mujahideen are against terrorism, wish to die as martyrs.”
Prosecutors had sought a fifteen-year sentence.

Notice: All comments are subject to moderation. Our comments are intended to be a forum for civil discourse bearing on the subject under discussion. Commenters who stray beyond the bounds of civility or employ what we deem gratuitous vulgarity in a comment — including, but not limited to, “s***,” “f***,” “a*******,” or one of their many variants — will be banned without further notice in the sole discretion of the site moderator.

Responses