Ba'asyir unable to deliver sermon at Idul Fitri prayers
Damar Harsanto The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Convicted Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, leader of Surakarta- based Ngruki Islamic boarding school, Central Java, celebrated his first Idul Fitri at the Salemba Penitentiary, Central Jakarta, on Tuesday by presiding over Idul Fitri prayers.
His scheduled sermon was canceled and he was replaced by Alwi Rofi'i of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, although Ba'asyir's sermon had already been printed on booklets distributed to the congregation.
Ba'asyir told reporters that his poor state of health had forced him to cancel the sermon.
"But please ask the warden for an explanation of that (the cancellation)," he said.
The cleric celebrated Idul Fitri with his wife, Aisyiah Baraja, plus his children and grandchildren, who had arrived in Jakarta earlier on Monday to visit him.
Salemba Penitentiary warden Hafilludin, however, denied rumors that the sermon had been canceled due to the intervention of an embassy in Jakarta.
"There has not been any intervention at all. What has happened is merely a reallocation of tasks. Ba'asyir was assigned to preside over the prayers while Alwi was to give the sermon," he said.
Hafilludin was quick to add that Ba'asyir was suffering from a sore throat so he could not deliver his sermon.
Ba'asyir's scheduled sermon was titled Hidup Mulia atau Mati Syahid: Jihad Melawan Zionis Yahudi (Noble Living or Holy Death: A struggle to fight against Jewish Zionism). In the sermon, as printed in the booklets, he called on his followers to stand against the enemies of Allah, like the U.S. administration and its allies, which had "undermined Islam and our country."
He also urged the public to boycott all U.S. products and called for a diplomatic standoff with the U.S. and its allies.
Ba'asyir was sentenced to four years' imprisonment by the Central Jakarta District Court on Sep. 2, as the court found him guilty of document counterfeiting, immigration violations and being involved in an act of treason with the aim of assassinating Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Prosecutors had sought a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Ba'asyir, who had also been charged with being the leader of regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). This group has been blamed for the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, which killed 202 people and injured some 350 others; the JW Marriott Hotel attack on Aug. 5, 2003, and the 2000 Christmas Eve church bombings.
However, the panel of judges found there was not enough evidence to prove the charges.
When asked by the media about his acquaintance with terrorist suspects Dr. Azahari and Noordin M. Top, who are still at large, Ba'asyir claimed that he did not know either suspect personally.
"I have never met Dr. Azahari ... I met Noordin, with whom I was acquainted as a teacher at the Lukmanul Hakim Islamic boarding school every time I visited my grandson, Muad, who is studying there. But, I don't know him well," he said.
The police wish to arrest Azahari and Noordin for their alleged involvement in a string of terrorist attacks in the country. They managed to escape recently a police dragnet in Bandung.