Australia will be "destroyed instantly" if it launches a pre-emptive strike
against terrorist targets in other countries, warns the man Western
governments say is spiritual leader of the terrorist group accused of
masterminding the Bali bombings.
Abu Bakar Bashir, the cleric said to be head of the recently banned
South-East Asian group Jemaah Islamiah, said Australians would be dragged
into a war with Muslims if they went along with the "crazy idea" of a
pre-emptive strike floated recently by the Prime Minister, John Howard.
"So, if John Howard's stance is followed by the people of Australia you
must know that there will be war in the world and, God willing, Australia
will be destroyed instantly due to the crazy idea of its Prime Minister."
Abu Bakar said that "Australian people, God willing, have no problem with
Islam" but their leaders, like Mr Howard, "do influence their people a lot
to make enemies of Islam ... the incumbent prime minister is the ally of
George W. Bush, the worst and most evil president in the world. John Howard
is his ally."
Abu Bakar, who heads a militant Islamic boarding school in Central Java
where thousands of young men have studied, also said suicide bombings were
a "noble thing" when used in the defence of Islam.
"Martyrs' bombs are a noble thing, a jihad of high value if you are forced
to do it. For instance, in Palestine there is no other way to defend
yourself and defend Islam.
"All Ulamas [Muslim leaders] agree with martyrs' bombs because we are
forced to do it. There is no other way to defend ourselves and to defend Islam.
"Like my Muslim brothers in Palestine facing Israel, they are forced to do
such a thing because of the unequal weapons.
"Israel gets weapons supplied by Allah's enemy, the American Government,
while the Palestinians do not have weapons that are capable of fighting
back, so there is no other way but the martyr-bombers way."
Abu Bakar made his comments when answering a series of questions prepared
by the Herald and put to him and recorded by one of his confidants in the
police hospital in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The cleric is being held for questioning about a series of church bombings
on Christmas Eve 2000.
In contrast with his comments in an interview with the Herald just after
the Bali bombing, Abu Bakar expressed some sympathy for the victims of the
attack, who he said appeared to be "only ordinary tourists" and not
involved in attacking Islam.
However, he said Muslims had no choice but to defend themselves from
attacks by the United States and its allies, including Australia.
"... We are obliged to defend ourselves and attack people who attack
Islam," he said.
"In Islam there is no word for hands up, there is no word for surrender,
there are only two things, win or die ... if infidels do want to attack
Islam, fight Islam, so we are instructed to fight them."
http://smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/12/1039656170890.html
