Posted on 10/27/2002 1:00:41 AM PDT by swarthyguy
Islam preaches love, but the young warrior of God has hate-filled eyes. Dressed in the clothes of a soldier, he stands at attention, barring the way to the hospital bed of his leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, the man many believe is behind the Bali bombing.
There are dozens of genuine Indonesian Army soldiers here in the Central Javanese city of Solo, wearing uniforms and carrying automatic rifles.
But they are not in charge. Instead, control is in the hands, and at the whim, of this young warrior and his cohorts, delivered in shifts from al-Mukmin, the Islamic fundamentalist boarding school founded by Bashir in the nearby village of Ngruki. They protect a man damned in the wsest for the Bali atrocity of three weeks ago, and described as a terrorist mastermind.
To them, he is a beloved preacher and teacher, encouraging them to give their lives to Islam.
A crush of Indonesian press surges forward, eager for a chance to photograph Bashir through the window of his hospital room, but these young men keep order.
Wearing combat boots and army fatigues, they carry a menace that quiets the surging press pack. Only a few are allowed through at a time, and then for an arbitrary few seconds or minutes.
They are clad in black, uniform T-shirts, which carry the name of the mujahidin (freedom fighter) group they are assigned to. Under the logo of crossed Ak-47 assault rifles is the word "Brigade", and a number to denote the group they are in.
They communicate with army issue walkie-talkies, and answer to an older youth who is dressed less like a soldier than a gangster. Aside from his camoflague leggings, he wears thin sunglasses which hide his eyes, a bandanna and jandals with "Israel" and "US" printed on the sole side.
His enemies are firmly underfoot - "tomorrow I wear Australia and England," he smiles.
They are God's army and anything done in His name is just.
One leans towards a British journalist, cold eyes fixed as he asks: "Will you feel safe in your hotel room tonight."
It is Bashir and al-Mukmin that has created this teenage Praetorian guard, and they are intent on keeping their leader in Solo.
Their devotion and passion is the result of Bashir's lifetime of work towards an Islamic state. It has bred a fanaticism that can be found in small pockets across the country, and has created such uncertainty that the government dare not shift Bashir to Jakarta for questioning.
After the first day of Bashir's internment at the hospital, police struck a deal with the school. They agreed to keep him here rather than flying him to Jakarta to answer questions over Bali - and in return there will be no protests, no riots, no slogans.
One young freedom fighter runs from the hospital gate to the office the school has taken over in the hospital.
"The police chief is here," he tells the school leaders. "Will I let him in?"
Inside room nine of Muhammadiyah Hospital, Bashir has an oxygen mask fixed to his face, and a drip feeding into his arm, his hand reaching up occasionally to stroke his white beard.
Liked everything he does, these photocalls are calculated and arranged by his team of lawyers. The images are designed to convince Indonesia and the world he is too ill to be moved from Solo, his power base.
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