Holy warriors to gather

Holy warriors to gather

KEBUMEN, Central Java: Some 5,000 activists of Muslim
organizations in support of a jihad holy war to help their
comrades are expected to gather in the town's main square on
Sunday for a mass prayer.

The event's organizing committee chairman, Atoillah, asserted
on Tuesday the gathering had nothing to do with the outbreak of
violence in Maluku and Mataram, saying the gathering had been
planned since last year.

"We will hold the meeting as an expression of our concern for
moral decadence of the nation. We will pray to God to help people
in the country overcome their problems," Atoillah said.

Participants will include members of the Thoriqotul Jihad
Front (FTJ) from Central Java and the Front of Islam Defenders
(FPI) from Jakarta.

In response to the plan, the provincial chairman of the
National Awakening Party, Noer Iskandar al-Barsany, warned the
groups of the potential for such a huge gathering to fall to
rioting such as those occurring last week in Mataram, the capital
of West Nusa Tenggara. (45)