Jakarta, 18 June (AKI) - One of the three men who have been sentenced to death for their role in the 2002 Bali bombings has said that his execution could lead to more al-Qaeda attacks in Indonesia.
"It is very probable. Allah willing, that this will happen. Everyone knows that the army of Allah is everywhere," said Imam Samudra, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for the nightclub bombings in Bali in 2002 which killed 202 people.
He was responding to a question about whether al-Qaeda would attack Indonesia after his execution.
Samudra's comment was published in Jihadmag, an Indonesian magazine which was first published in March and has a circulation of about 10,000 readers.
Imam Samudra was sentenced to death together with Amrozi and Muklas. The three of them admitted to have played a crucial role in the 2002 bombings.
Their execution has been postponed as they appeal their sentences.
The three are members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group that is fighting to create an Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
JI has been blamed for various other attacks in Indonesia and in the Philippines.
Jemaah Islamiyah, which literally translated means "Islamic community", has been listed a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union and by a large number of countries in the Southeast Asian region.
However it is not considered illegal or a terrorist organisation in Indonesia.
In a recent interview with Adnkronos International (AKI), Indonesia's vice-president Jusuf Kalla said that "one cannot ban an organisation if it does not exist."
Jihadmag is part of a literary phenomenon in Indonesia over the last few years which has seen the proliferation of magazines and books that have a religious or radical message.
The Brussels think-tank, the International Crisis Group recently issued a warning saying that JI is trying to take advantage of such publications to finance its activities and to spread its jihadist propaganda.
A source with the secret services told AKI that these magazines and books provide "a lot of money" that is "very easy" to acquire. The magazines and books are legal.
According to a study conducted in 2005 by the Indonesian association of publishers, known as Ikatan Penerbit Indonesia (IKAPI), a third of about 10,000 books published every year are about Islam.
The survey also said that the religious book are widely sold.
It is believed that as many as 100,000 copies of books that have a radical message have been sold.
Imam Samudra himself has sold 12,000 copies of his book, entitled "The struggle against terrorists" which justifies his version of Jihad or holy war.
Source: adnkronos.com
