October 02, 2004

Terrorists Demand Release of Indonesian Jihadi in Exchange for Hostages

Al Jazeera reports that a group calling itself the Islamic Army in Iraq has demanded the release of the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir (Ba'asyir), in exchange for two Indonesian women being held hostage in Iraq. The two women were siezed on August 30th along with six Iraqis and two Lebanese men (report here). All of the hostages worked for an electronics firm under contract to help rebuild the war-torn state. The Islamic Army in Iraq is the same group that took French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot hostage last month.

Abu Bakar Bashir (Ba'asyir) has been indicted by the Indonesian government several times on terrorism related charges, including once for his role in the Bali bombings which killed 200 and injured more than 300. Bashir denies any role in terrorist activities. He is currently being held on minor immigration charges. According to the VOA, Bashir's lawyers, claiming to speak for him, condemned the kidnappings as a violation of Islamic principles. Bashir is said to be refusing any swap deal.

Bashir is head of the Mujahideen Council in Indonesia which seeks to set up an Islamic state based on strict sharia law. In the past he has been accused of orchestrating bombings against Christian churches in the mostly Muslim nation and plotting assasination attempts against Indonesian politicians. Bashir is also virulently anti-Semetic. More on Bashir's background HERE.

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 09:10 AM | |