Posted on 12/12/2005 7:50:37 PM PST by nickcarraway
Volunteers from Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation will guard churches across the world's most populous Muslim nation on Christmas amid fears of terrorist attacks on those places, the group said on Friday.
Jakarta police have said they would boost security in the capital ahead of Christmas to avoid a repeat of 2000 Christmas Eve bombings on churches in several Indonesian cities, including in the country's capital.
A youth wing affiliated with Indonesia's largest Muslim group Nahdlatul Ulama, some 40 million strong, said that members would guard churches for the coming Christmas festivities and it had persuaded youths from other religions to join the project.
"We have an annual programme to set up posts to secure Christmas. For this year, I have contacted groups from other religions like the Hindus and Buddhists and they have responded positively," said Tatang Hidayat, National Coordinator of NU's Banser group, known for its military-like uniform.
Hidayat said the volunteers would closely collaborate with existing police operations and the churches' own security.
Around 17,000 policemen are expected to safeguard Christmas celebrations in Jakarta alone.
The spate of bombings in 2000 killed at least 19 people, including a Banser member guarding a church in East Java.
The attacks along with other blasts in recent years -- most recently on the tourist island of Bali in October when suicide bombers killed 20 people -- have been blamed on Jemaah Islamiah, a militant network intelligence experts call a Southeast Asian wing of al-Qaeda.
Around 85 per cent of Indonesia's 220 million people are Muslim. Christians form the second largest religious group in the country as a whole, as well as in Jakarta.
Although Indonesia has been relatively calm in recent weeks, many security analysts say threats of militant attacks still run high because police have yet to catch one of the alleged masterminds of previous bombings, Malaysian-born Noordin M. Top.
Police last month killed Azahari Husin, another alleged Jemaah Islamiah leader, in a shootout in East Java province.
Just guarding their slaves. Nothing more.
Am I the only one who's first thought when reading this was, "The foxes are guarding the hen house"?!
It sounds like the wolf guarding the henhouse. My word....
A p.r. move - guard'em on Sunday and blow'em up on Monday.
Or is it the fox? Either way...
What do you mean? I'm not looking for a fight, just information. Slaves...?
Good for them. There are some decent Muslims after all.
Are they writing down all the names of those who attend? What a way to find out who to off later.
This is only surprising to those that condem Islam as 'evil' and think all muslims are terrorists and support terrorists.
Unfortunately, there are more than a few such folks here on FR.
I agree. I am willing to accept that this is a genuine effort by people of good will, unless proven otherwise.
Damned is they do, and damned if they don't, eh?
Correct. There's nothing in it for those guarding the churches, unless one thinks all of "those people" are just the same. All Muslims aren't terrorists--sorry, fanatics, but they're not.
"Que custodiet custodiet."
Glad to hear this.
Just when I thought all Muslims were pretty much the spawn of Satan.
I'm willing to give credit where credit is due. If this is genuine (and it sounds that way), then the people behind it are good, decent people.
This is great if it holds and is sincere.
Luke 9:49-50 "...we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."
May God bless them for their kindness.
I recently started a thread on the culture wars. There were 5 serious replies, and nearly a hundred snide comments about gay sexual techniques.
It's knee-jerk, it's ridiculous, but most importantly it distracts from our goals. Iraq is our greatest Mideast ally. We bleed and die for them, and now they do it for us. It is not helpful to joke about goat sex everytime their religion is mentioned.
Those mocking a billion Islamic worshipers will offer no suggestions beyond "nuke them all". Why not gas them then? Why are nukes OK, but not organized genocide? If we are going to do a job - even an evil job - let us do it right.
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