The Jihadis' Tale — page 3

INSIDE JEMAAH ISLAMIAH
Police believe that "academy" is located somewhere near Solo, the Central Java town in which JI's alleged leader Abubakar Ba'asyir runs an Islamic boarding school. The 64-year-old cleric, who has repeatedly denied any knowledge of JI and any connection to terrorism, has been under detention in Solo and Jakarta since his arrest on Oct. 19. The confessions by Mukhlas and Samudra haven't produced any direct evidence linking Abubakar to the Bali attack, says police general I Made Mangku Pastika, who heads the Bali investigation. And Abubakar says, "I have nothing to do whatsoever with the Bali bomb blasts." But Pastika adds that while investigators might lack direct evidence connecting Abubakar to the Bali attack, they are convinced that at the very least he has been a "teacher and inspiration" to Mukhlas and Samudra.

Rather than implicating others, the confessions are notable for the fact that both men seem intent on taking chief responsibility for JI's acts of terrorism in Indonesia. In Samudra's account, Mukhlas is conspicuously absent at all the planning meetings for the Bali bombings, meetings at which Mukhlas himself says he was present and in command. This is not an effort to inflate their own importance, says terror expert Abuza, but is designed to protect their brothers-in-arms and leaders. "It's part of their contingency plans for arrest," says Abuza. "They're trained to say 'the buck stops with me.' It makes investigators feel good about who they've captured and stops them from looking for responsibility higher up."

Yet the confession by Mukhlas states explicitly that Abubakar is indeed the group's undisputed leader—its emir, in JI-speak. Central to the emir's control of JI is the bai'ah (oath of fealty) that all members are obliged to swear on joining the network. The half-hour pledging ceremony is carried out in groups of four or five seated in a semicircle around the emir. It ends with a handshake—except in the case of women, Mukhlas primly notes. "The bai'ah is very, very important," says a regional intelligence official familiar with the interrogations of JI detainees. "It binds the member to the organization and the idea that the emir knows best and that they have to do his bidding."

According to a detailed breakdown of the JI structure provided by Mukhlas, the emir boasts virtually unchecked powers to appoint and dismiss top leaders, reprimand and punish members, and guide the direction of the network. His followers acknowledge that they will be subject to physical and divine retribution if they break their pledge of loyalty to him. Regional intelligence sources regard the confessions of Mukhlas and Samudra as evidence that Abubakar wields supreme temporal and spiritual authority within JI. Indeed, Mukhlas asserts that it was Abubakar who named him head of JI's mantiqi, or region, covering Sumatra, Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand. Mukhlas' predecessor in this key position was Hambali, who stepped down as JI's regional terror coordinator when he had to go on the run.

For the moment, says Pastika, Abubakar is resolutely refusing to answer his interrogators' questions. But the 51-year-old Balinese native is adamant that Abubakar will be prosecuted, despite speculation in Jakarta that pressure from hard-line Islamic sympathizers at the top levels of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government could force his release. "He will definitely go on trial for immigration violations and we are gathering evidence in relation to the Christmas bombings in 2000," says Pastika. Abubakar faces a possible prison sentence of six years on charges of leaving the country illegally and longer if he is convicted of playing a role in the string of blasts that left 18 dead and more than 100 wounded on Dec. 24, 2000.

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