Islam's leaders condemns Bali blasts
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Stringent condemnations poured in on Sunday over the latest blasts that killed at least 26 people on the resort island of Bali, with Muslim leaders appealing to authorities to avoid hastily linking the attacks with Islam.
Nahdlatul Ulama (NO) and Muhammadiyah, the nation's two biggest Muslim organization, said Saturday's powerful bombs were savage, uncivilized and inhuman.
"In fact, the explosions hurt people having no relation with the interests or targets of terrorists," NU leader Hasyim Muzadi said. The victims of the blasts were mostly Indonesians.
NU deputy leader Masdar Farid Mas'udi expressed the NU's deepest condolences to families and relatives of the victims and prayed that they exercised "restraint" in facing the tragedy.
"The attack was a vicious, inhuman and cowardly act," he said, urging law enforcers not to hesitate in punishing the bombers severely.
"If the perpetrators are Muslims, their sentences must be multiplied because they have tarnished the sacredness of their religion and cornered its followers worldwide," Masdar said.
Muhammadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin said the blasts, which ripped apart three restaurants packed with Saturday night diners, had nothing to do with religion.
"The attacks were carried out by irreverent and inhuman people. I believe it was an attempt to discredit the government and create instability," he said.
Din, who is also the Indonesian Ulema Council's (MUI) deputy chairman, called on the public to avoid being "provoked or trapped into confrontation".
Former Muhammadiyah leader Ahmad Syafii Maarif said that if the bombers were Muslims, they should stop claiming to be Muslims because they had damaged the image of the religion.
"That was not an act of religious people because any religion prohibits such a savage act," he said.
Syafii expressed regret that the alleged masterminds of previous terrorist attacks in the country and key leaders of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), fugitive Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, had not been caught.
"If the ones responsible for these attacks are Dr Azahari and Noordin, why do they remain at large?" he asked.
Antiterror authorities said on Sunday that the fresh attacks on Bali were carried out by suicide bombers, citing similarities with the previous bombings on the paradise island three years ago.
However, Hasyim Muzadi said the latest attacks apparently differed from the 2002 explosions, in which 202 people were killed.
"The blasts were not as spectacular as the previous ones, the targets of which were clear. But now, the national and international context seems to be different.
"In my opinion, the latest incident appears more political," Hasyim said but would not elaborate.
He urged police to investigate the bombings thoroughly and objectively, and to refrain from reaching a hasty conclusion that the same bombers from Jamaah Islamiyah were the culprits.
A similar condemnation was voiced by People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Hidayat Nur Wahid, who branded the bombers as "atheists" who wanted to divide followers of different faiths in Indonesia.
"We reject the accusation that Muslims are the bombers. That's not true. Islam does not allow violence that claims many lives," he was quoted by Antara as saying at a gathering of Muslims in Jakarta.
House of Representatives speaker Agung Laksono visited the bomb sites in Bali on Sunday, deploring the attack and mourning the deaths of the victims.
He promised to summon the relevant security forces soon to brief lawmakers on the progress of the investigation into the latest blasts.