Terror cleric Abu Bakar Bashir gets 15 years in jail

Off to the slammer.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the terror cleric behind the Bali, and Marriott bombings is finally behind bars where he belongs. The sentence is not for those bombings but for inciting and motivating others to commit terrorism by orchestrating and funding a terror training camp in Aceh.

Bashir was the founder of Jemaah Islamiah, a jihadist group set up with the intention of enforcing sharia law throughout Indonesia and creating a South East Asian Caliphate to include all countries in the region.

Last year, police arrested Bashir after linking three members of his new, above-ground Islamic organization, Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, to the group in Aceh.

The group trained in Aceh’s remote, jungle-covered mountains and stockpiled weapons, authorities said. Last year, the police killed and arrested more than 120 people suspected of having links to the group, including Dulmatin, one of Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorism suspects. The authorities said the group had been planning attacks against foreigners and had previously made plans to assassinate moderate Muslims, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Bashir accused Australia and America of playing a big role in his imminent demise. This is typical of these zealots, who have little sense of reality. On being convicted of crimes such as planning attacks on foreigners and the president, it has to be someone else’s fault. He further claims:

“The trouble makers are these two, (Australia and America) the enemies of Allah. They try to eliminate me from Indonesia. Because they are the ones who started the crusade war, America, George Bush. Until now Australia and America still have role in my case. That's clear,” Bashir told reporters through the bars.

“I am not a terrorist,” he declared. 
“Kill me if they can, if they can't, then just how to eliminate me from the society, because they think my struggle for Islam is dangerous. My trial is not regular trial; it is a battle against Islam. It is a battle between defenders of Islam and Musrik, the defenders of evil. I am an Islam defender.”

He claims that the verdict is unfair because it is based on laws that are made by infidels, not on sharia.