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(Islamofascist terror) Cleric calls on Bush to convert to Islam
Houston Chronicle ^

Posted on 06/15/2006 4:32:05 PM PDT by PRePublic

Militan cleric Abu Bakar Bashir gestures during a press conference at his residence in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, Thursday, June 15, 2006. The Freed cleric on Thursday described the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings as "God's will" and encouraged non-Muslim survivors of the attacks to convert to Islam. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)","DITA ALANGKARA", "AP");

June 15, 2006, 10:08AM

Cleric Calls on Bush to Convert to Islam

By IRWAN FIRDAUS Associated Press Writer

© 2006 The Associated Press

SOLO, Indonesia — A reputed leader of an al-Qaida-linked terror group blamed for deadly bombings across Indonesia on Thursday accused President Bush and Australia's prime minister of waging wars against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir also called on Bush and Prime Minister John Howard to convert to Islam, saying it was "the only way to save their souls."

He added that families still grieving after the 2002 Bali blasts that killed many foreigners should also become Muslim to find "salvation and peace."

Bashir, 68, was released from prison Wednesday after completing a 26-month sentence for conspiracy in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people. He spoke Thursday at a hard-line Islamic boarding school that has spawned some of Southeast Asia's deadliest terrorists.

The firebrand cleric declined to directly condemn young men who carry out bombings in Indonesia in the name of Islam, saying he still considered them "holy warriors," because they believed they were defending the oppressed.

But he also said they were misguided and wrong to use bombs in a country at peace. "Why use bombs in a non-conflict zone? Preaching is enough," he said.

Jemaah Islamiyah is accused of church bombings across the world's most populous Muslim nation in 2000, the 2002 attack on the resort island of Bali, attacks in the capital Jakarta in 2003 and 2004, and a triple suicide bombing on Bali last October.

The attacks killed more than 260 people, many of them foreigners, and have thrust Indonesia onto the front line of the global war on terror.

The United States and Australia have expressed disappointment at Bashir's release, but Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono maintained Thursday it did not mean his government was soft on Islamic militants.

"Abu Bakar Bashir was put on trial. He was punished," Yudhoyono said in Jakarta, adding that Indonesia has arrested hundreds of suspected terrorists and sentenced three linked to the 2002 Bali bombings to death.

Bashir, who has never been linked to the preparation or commission of terrorist attacks, was asked Thursday about families still suffering from the Bali blasts.

He said the attacks "were God's will" and that survivors should "convert to Islam" if they wanted to ease their suffering.

He had the same message for Bush and Howard.

Bashir called Bush an "infidel," and said he was happy the American people were starting to realize their president had made a mistake when he decided to wage war on Muslims. He did not elaborate, but was apparently referring to sliding opinion polls.

"I feel sorry for the American people, but it seems now they realize he was wrong," Bashir told reporters who were invited to speak to him on the porch of his modest home inside the al-Mukmin boarding school complex, which he founded in 1972.

Bashir also told Australia, which urged Indonesian authorities to keep a close eye on his activities, not to intervene in his nation's affairs.

"I don't interfere in Australian affairs, and you should not intervene in ours," he said.

Howard sent a strongly worded letter to the Indonesian president on Thursday expressing distress over Bashir's release and urging the government to monitor the cleric's activities because of his links to the Bali bombings, which killed 88 Australians.

Speaking to reporters later, Howard said Bashir's release could affect relations between Australia and Indonesia.

"It's an important issue currently in the relationship and the Indonesians must understand how deeply offended Australians are," said Howard, who is due to meet Yudhoyono later this month in Indonesia.

Bashir's freedom has raised concerns he will energize Indonesia's small Islamic radical fringe by making impassioned speeches at rallies and mosques, but few believe the cleric will play a direct role in terrorism.

Before the Bali blasts, Bashir was chiefly known for his campaign to make his secular nation an Islamic state _ something he said Thursday he would continue to do _ and his vitriolic criticism of the West.

Sidney Jones, a leading international expert on Jemaah Islamiyah, said she did not think Bashir's freedom increased the threat of bombings in Indonesia.

But, she said, "there is no question that his stature has grown in prison and that he's now seen as a symbol of defying the West and the United States in particular.

"For that reason, he will be a very popular speaker among many young Muslim crowds in many parts to Indonesia, including many people who have no interest in violence whatsoever."




TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: abubakarbashir; bali; balibombing; bashir; dhimmi; dhimmis; indonesia; indonesianjihad; infidel; infidels; islam; islamicjihad; islamism; islamofascism; jemmaislamyia; jihad; jihadinasia; kafir; koran; muslim; muslims; quran; religion; religionofpeace; waronterror; wot
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To: PRePublic
In the conduct of warfare by Muslims, an infidel is first called upon to convert to Islam. If he does, he becomes one of the Umma (community of believers). As such, he or she may be lawfully attacked by other Muslims. If the offer is refused, then the infidel has confirmed his status as an unbeliever and may be attacked in any manner that the Muslims see fit to use.

But Muslims do attack other Muslims, you say.

True enough. They certainly do attack one another when fighting as members of a national army. Then they are acting just as a serving citizen of any nation would.

However, when they are making jihad, the struggle for faith, they are supposed to follow the rules formulated over the centuries by Muslim scholars drawing on the example provided by the Prophet Mohammed's words and actions. Those rules require the extension of the invitation to convert as discussed in the paragraph above. In order for an attack or war to be lawful under Muslim rules, the enemy must clearly be an infidel (Christian, Jew, other faith) OR they must be an apostate Muslim. Hence the frequently made declarations by jihadis that Shia and Sunni Muslims are apostates, traitors, etc.

One way or another, the enemy must first be defined as being outside the Muslim Umma before they can be lawfully attacked.
21 posted on 06/15/2006 4:55:41 PM PDT by Captain Rhino (If you will just abandon logic, these things will make a lot more sense!)
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To: PRePublic

How does this POS get off with just two years for helping mass murder 200 people? He should be dead.


22 posted on 06/15/2006 4:56:23 PM PDT by Argus
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To: Navy Patriot

Another terrorist quoting the DNC/MSM, God help us.


23 posted on 06/15/2006 4:57:34 PM PDT by roses of sharon
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To: PRePublic

It's a cult with a death fixation.


24 posted on 06/15/2006 4:59:25 PM PDT by SuziQ
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To: PRePublic

Bush should have him shot.


25 posted on 06/15/2006 5:00:36 PM PDT by gotribe (It's not a religion.)
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To: COEXERJ145

Abu Bakr Bashir, upon being goosed
by Islamic convert George W. bin Bush.


"Put 'er there Abu!"

26 posted on 06/15/2006 5:07:15 PM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - IT'S ISLAM, STUPID! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth)
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To: PRePublic




Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir Bugger-Billygoat gets the coveted Horse's Ass Award.
27 posted on 06/15/2006 5:42:09 PM PDT by Bars4Bill
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To: PRePublic

GWB to Bashir: "Why don't you convert to room temperature?"


28 posted on 06/15/2006 5:42:17 PM PDT by twoputt
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To: Jorge
These people live in darkness.

They ARE darkness. The very embodyment of mindless evil.

29 posted on 06/15/2006 5:49:36 PM PDT by John Valentine
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To: PRePublic

Look at the picture of this maniac....

Can't this guy just have an accident? I mean, like in the old days...?


30 posted on 06/15/2006 6:12:15 PM PDT by observer5 ("Better violate the rights of a few, than of all!)
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To: PRePublic

Bashir: Dead man walking/talking?

The next article I see about this "Religion of peace" a$$hole is his obituary!


31 posted on 06/15/2006 6:18:55 PM PDT by Taxman (So that the beautiful pressure does not diminish!)
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To: COEXERJ145
Bashir: 'Not only do I favor Dick Gregory and strike poses like him , I am also his equal in IQ and lucidity'.
32 posted on 06/15/2006 6:45:43 PM PDT by jblair
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To: COEXERJ145

ping for later image theft


33 posted on 06/15/2006 7:24:28 PM PDT by rlmorel (John Murtha: Out of touch, Out of His Mind. Lets make him Out of Congress! DIANA IREY FOR CONGRESS!)
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To: PRePublic

I call on President Bush to convert Islam to ashes.


34 posted on 06/16/2006 10:11:32 AM PDT by TexasRepublic (Afghan protest - "Death to Dog Washers!")
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To: COEXERJ145
168 gr HPBT MatchKing: When you care enough to send the very best.

Mr. Nutjob, meet Mr. MatchKing.

35 posted on 06/16/2006 10:15:47 AM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilisation is aborting, buggering, and contracepting itself out of existence.)
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