Author: Linda Morris
Publication: The Sydney Morning
Herald
Date: December 10, 2002
URL: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/09/1039379788932.html
The suspected spiritual leader of
Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir, preached of establishing an Islamic
state in Australia in his sermons to Sydney Muslims.
In an audio-recording believed to
feature his voice, and obtained by the Herald, the hardline cleric gives
his broad support to jihad - the term for struggle - to bring Islamic law
to the world, particularly Indonesia.
He backs conflict and war in defence
of the faith and says it is an "abasement" for Muslims to live in a "non-believing
nation".
But the speaker does not directly
refer to the violent overthrow of the then Soeharto government or make
any reference to terrorist actions.
"The Islamic faithful in Australia
must endeavour to bring about an Islamic state in Australia, even if it
is 100 years from now," he told the gathering.
Abu Bakar's message is on an audio-tape
allegedly recorded at an evening prayer meeting at an unknown Sydney location
in 1993.
The al-Qaeda terrorist group and
Jemaah Islamiah aspire to create an Islamic superstate in South-East Asia,
called Daulah Islamiyah, which would embrace Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei,
Thailand and Cambodia.
Last month, the Philippines' national
security adviser, Roilo Golez, told ABC's Four Corners that Abu Bakar,
with al-Qaeda backing, was trying to include northern Australia in its
plans.
As secretary-general of the Mujahideen
League, the cleric is alleged to have established four territorial groups,
called mantiqis, to serve the aim of a pan-Islamic Asian state. One of
those covered Irian Jaya and northern Australia.
The former head of security for
the Sydney Olympics, Paul McKinnon, said the idea of an Islamic superstate
had surfaced time and time again in intelligence reports on militants,
prepared for the Games.
Videotapes of Abu Bakar's sermons
have been seized from some of the Indonesian-Australians raided by ASIO
but the audio-recording, if genuine as believed, represents the first credible
evidence of his Australian statements.
The scratchy recording contains
background noise including babies crying, planes taking off and landing,
sirens, trucks and traffic noise. The sermon lasts about 40 minutes and
is preceded by recitation of extracts from the Koran.
Abu Bakar has been in detention
in Indonesia since October 20 as a suspect in a series of church bombings
on Christmas Eve 2000 and a plot to assassinate Megawati Sukarnoputri before
she became president.
He is suspected of links to Jemaah
Islamiah, the Asian offshoot of al- Qaeda, which shares JI's aim of a pan-Islamic
state.
The recording date tallies with
a statement by Moshen Thalib, an Indonesian national raided by ASIO, who
said Abu Bakar visited Australia up to twice a year between 1993 and 1996.
Greg Fealy, research fellow and
lecturer in Indonesian politics at the Australian National University,
reviewed the transcript for the Herald and concluded that many of the statements
rang true, including references to "Satan's Party" and "ravines of hostility
and hate".
As Abu Bakar came to public notice,
Mr Fealy said, he had played down the notion of an Islamic state and emphasised
an "Islamising of society".
"It could mean the same thing but
the distinction is you would create more devout Muslims as a pre-condition
for a more Islamic country. In 1993 it was quite plausible he was talking
of an Islamic state because at that stage he was more open."
But Mr Fealy cautioned about public
overreaction. "Advocating creation of an Islamic state should not be seen
in itself as an act of terrorism because there is no injunction in these
statements to violence."
The speech is full of religious
imagery. The world is divided between God's Party and Satan's Party. Political
systems such as capitalism and communism were more "dangerous than death".
Those not committed to the teachings of Islam, and who were dabbling in
Christianity, Buddhism or their "culture and ancestors", were "followers
of Satan's Party".
"Meaning if, in the defence of our
faith, conflict or war must occur, or if human life must be lost, this
is still better than the deception of such systems."
At the conclusion, he invites the
devout to uphold the faith in Australia and create an Islamic state in
Indonesia "in accordance with your individual capacity, and at the very
least in your hearts".
"A noble life is one that is regulated
100 per cent by God's law; namely, life in an Islamic state. How can we
bring this into being? By working hard to undertake jihad to uphold the
rule of God's law. There is no other way apart from this."
He ends: "May God bless the struggle
of our brethren in Australia who have demonstrated such loyalty, despite
being surrounded by non-believers."