Guess the religion: “Beat up infidel tourists, says cleric”

Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who was convicted of conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but was later cleared and released from prison, has some instructions for his young followers in The Religion of Peace.

Bashir, the co-founder of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network, recently feted extremists blamed for Indonesian bombings as “counter-terrorists” who he says are role models for other Muslims.

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Here is an excerpt from the report in The Australian, March 24 2008:

ISLAMIC cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has returned to his hardline rhetoric with a call for followers to beat up Western tourists and for young Muslims to die as martyrs.

In the sermon, organised by an Islamic youth organisation and delivered a few kilometres from the home village of convicted Bali bombers Amrozi and Mukhlas, Bashir likened tourists in Bali to “worms, snakes, maggots”, and specifically referred to the immorality of Australian infidels.

The address was caught on video by an Australian university student.

“The youth movement here must aspire to a martyrdom death,” said the
“The young must be first at the front line – don’t hide at the back. You must be at the front, die as martyrs and all your sins will be forgiven. This is how to achieve forgiveness.”

• Meanwhile, Robert Fisk claims that “There is no connection between Islam and ‘terror’.” (‘scare quotes’ his)