A cleric? But how did he miss all the peaceful teachings of the Qur’an?
Of course, sarcasm aside, clerics are generally among the leaders of jihad terror groups. Search for “cleric” in the archives and you’ll see what I mean. You might be interested in all the archived articles about “Abu Bakar Bashir” (spelled Ba’aysir here).
Muslim clerics leading the jihad worldwide. Now what does that fact tell you?
From The Guardian, :
A self-confessed former operative for the south-east Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah today became the first witness to directly link the Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba’aysir to the organisation.
Nasir Abbas, a Malaysian, told an Indonesian court that Mr Ba’aysir had sanctioned the murder of non-Muslims, funded a terrorist training camp, and met the al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden. Mr Abbas described Mr Ba’aysir as the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant group seen as being the south-east Asian arm of al-Qaida.
The accusation came during Mr Ba’aysir’s continuing trial on terrorism charges. Prosecutors say that, as the head of Jemaah Islamiyah, Mr Ba’aysir inspired his followers to carry out the October 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, in which 202 people were killed, and last year’s attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, in which 12 died. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.
Mr Ba’aysir denied all Mr Abbas’ testimony – the first to directly link the 66-year-old to Jemaah Islamiyah. Hundreds of Mr Ba’aysir’s supporters jeered and shouted “liar!” as Mr Abbas addressed the court in southern Jakarta. “You are saying this because the police forced you to,” one man yelled.
The US and Australia have both accused Mr Ba’aysir of being a terrorist leader in south-east Asia, and urged Jakarta to bring him to trial for a second time after he was acquitted of related terrorism offences last year.