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Indonesian
Muslim Groups Condemn Bali Blasts, U.S. Accused
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Victims
of the blast
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By
Kazi Mahmood & Suhaib Jassim, IOL Correspondents
JAKARTA,
October 13 (IslamOnline) - Islamic societies and groups in Indonesia
Sunday, October 13, lashed out strongly at Bali Blasts that left 182
people dead and 272 wounded, mostly foreign tourists, whereas
observers and analysts pointed a clear finger of accusation to the
United States.
Condemnation
of the bomb blast came from several sectors, hours after the press
conference held by President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who announced the
number of casualties.
From
Islamic Shari`ah viewpoint, all such acts of massacring
civilians and slaughtering women and children are no more than
mischief through the land, a crime that entails the punishment of Hirabah
(Highway Robbery). It is to born in mind that the punishment is to
be carried out following the same order as is clarified in the
Qur’an.
In
case, murdering is accompanied by taking money, then both killing and
crucifying are due. If only murdering is there, then death sentence
only is due. If it is a case of usurping money, let the punishment be
cutting off the hands and the feet. Once the crime involves
terrorizing people and nothing more, then exiling is the punishment to
be applied. a Muslim judge, according to Imam Malik, is entitled to
opt for a level of punishment according to what suits each individual
case.
The
largest Muslim organization in Indonesia, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)
with over 30 million registered members across the country, severely
condemned the act and urged the regime to be firm in tackling
terrorism.
However,
the NU deputy chief, Masdouqi Bidlawi, expressed his grieve concern at
the blasts and "the negative consequences it may have on
Indonesian Muslims", adding that "it is a very scary and
worrying incident".
Muhammadyya
Group, as well as other Islamic organizations, also blasted the
explosions and urged cautiousness in accusing "any party",
and asked the mass media "to stop tarnishing the image of Islam
and Muslims".
For
his part, president of the Islamic Defense Front (FPI), al-Habib
Muhammad Rizq Shihab, strongly criticized the blasts that killed many
civilians, pointing a finger of accusation to "the only party to
make gains out of that innocent blood".
“I
believe those responsible for the bombing are Americans, the CIA for
example. They had to prove that Indonesia was a “terror bed” and
this is what is now being proven according to them,” Shihab said,
adding that Indonesia was not a terror hotbed.
He
insisted that if the Bali bombings were an act of terrorism, then it
would not be the action of any Indonesians.
“However
this is not true. Indonesia is not a country where terrorists are
active and free,” he added.
"I
believe this is a repetition of the scenario of 9/11/2002 explosions
(in New York and Washington), through which the U.S. toppled the
Taliban regime (in Afghanistan), destroyed the Muslim country and
drove Afghans out of their homes. “Thank Allah, our Islamic Group
has no branch in Bali, otherwise, we could have been accused of
planning these blasts," he explained.
Within
the same context, Indonesian political analyst Podiatna, said that
Bali blasts were designed to appear as an excuse or introduction to
other events. "A foreign party, namely the U.S., carried out the
blasts and the next step is to implicate any local group, and the rest
is known".
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Sukarnoputri
is deeply concerned by the blast
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Echoing
the same meaning, analysts say the blast has the thumb print of the
United States, with Dr Nadjamuddin Muhammad Rasul, an expert in local
politics and a respected scholar adding that the U.S. had all reasons
to plan such a blast.
Rasul
said in a comment to Tempo newspaper on Sunday evening that the blast
strengthens the United States’ “anti-terrorist” drive in South
East Asia and it offers the George Bush administration a strong
“weapon” to force the lukewarm Indonesia to rally behind it in the
war against terror.
He
added that the bombing gives the tag “terrorist” to the Muslim
population in Indonesia since the country represented one of the very
few nations that refused to jump in the “war against terror” band
wagon.
He
also said that with the vacancy left by the dismantling of the Soviet
Union, the U.S. found that Islam was its direct enemy and that the
issue of terrorism was one reason why the U.S. would want to control
the Asia Pacific region with force.
On
the other hand, Dr Rohan Gunaratna, an expert on the al-Qaeda said to ABC
television and reproduced in the Tempo newspaper on Sunday that
he believed the Osama Bin Laden group was behind the blast.
Gunaratna
said he was convinced the al-Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) were
still very active in the region and the blast in Bali was concrete
proof of their existence.
He
also urged Australia to work closely with South East Asian countries
to battle terrorism, other wise that country will suffer terrorist
activities on its own soil in the long run.
For
her part, Megawati Sukarnoputri altogether condemned the bomb blast as
a shameful act, with sources saying that she was clearly in shock over
the news that one of the most peaceful regions in Indonesia was hit by
terrorism.
Bali
was “immune” to racial riots and demonstrations that affected
large parts of Indonesia during the last days of the regime of former
president General Suharto in the late 1990’s.
The
mainly Hindu city of Bali was until Saturday, a safe heaven and a
popular tourist resort for foreigners, mostly Australians and
Americans, another source told IslamOnline.
Bali
is a major Foreign Exchange (forex) earner for cash starved Indonesia,
the city attracting large number of foreign tourists due to its
relative calm and security.
The
Bali blasts remind many of the bombing of the Jakarta Stock Exchange
(JTX) in Jakarta two years ago. This was the worst blast to date in
Indonesia.
A
car bomb ripped through a garage beneath Jakarta’s stock exchange in
the year 2000, setting off a chain of exploding vehicles that killed
at least 16 people and injuring 50 others.
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