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| Southeast Asia |
| Australian Embassy bomber remorseless in new book |
| 2009-03-16 |
| A Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist on death row for the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta remains unrepentant about the deadly attack in a recently-released book, in which he states that jihad means killing those who don’t believe in Islam and says he will die a martyr. The book, a copy of which was obtained by the Jakarta Globe, is likely to anger the country’s security authorities, who are attempting to halt the circulation of books written by the three Bali bombers prior to their execution in November 2008, to prevent the spread of violent messages. Rois Abu Syaukat, also known as Iman Darmawan, argues that the enemy of Islam depends on one’s beliefs, in the latest book, “What is Jihad?” “Jihad is to wage war on the nonbeliever. It truly depends on Shariah [Islamic law],” he writes. “Jihad is not just [conducting missionary work] or building madrasahs,” he adds. According to the International Crisis Group, Rois was recruited by Malaysian terrorist suspect Noordin M. Top and was in charge of logistics for the Sept. 9, 2004, truck bombing, which killed nine Indonesian security guards and motorists. Among Rios’s responsibilities were training the suicide bomber, Heri Golun, how to drive the Dai-hatsu delivery van and its one-ton load, and to monitor Heri’s state of mind in the moments before the attack. It has been reported that Australia’s role in supporting the United States during the invasion of Iraq was his motivation. In his 224-page book, published by Jakarta-based publishers Pustaka Shotulhaq in January, Rois cites the Koran and Prophet Muhammad for justifying his actions, but during an exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe from Cipinang Prison in Central Jakarta last Friday, he refused to elaborate on his role in the bombing. He has previously both confessed and denied involvement. “I don’t want to talk about it. Just read my book,” he said. He is appealing his sentence. In the 224-page book, Rois writes that legitimate targets for jihad include nonbelievers, Muslims who abandon their beliefs, killing others for money, hypocrites, those who disobey Islamic law and despotic governments. For this reason, he wrote, the bombing of the Australian Embassy was justified. |
| Posted by:ryuge |