“We will fight against anything considered an affront to Islam.” And he doesn’t mind robbing a bank to do so, because that is kuffar money to which he is entitled.
“Bashir Witness Claims CIMB Niaga Heist Was to Fund Jihad,” by Heru Andriyanto for the Jakarta Globe, April 5:
Adeadly [sic] heist at a CIMB Niaga bank branch in Medan last year was carried out to fund jihad, a suspected militant told the court on Monday at the trial of controversial cleric Abu Bakar Bashir.
“The money was intended for Jihad Fisabilillah,” or struggling in the name of Allah, said Beben Khairul Banin, who is being tried separately for the Aug. 18 robbery that left one police officer dead.
“We will fight against anything considered an affront to Islam,” he told the South Jakarta District Court.
Banks are among the targets “because they seek interest, which is against Islamic law,” he said.
Beben said he was paid Rp 10 million ($1,150) after the bank heist, but he had no idea what happened to the rest of the money.
Police said the CIMB Niaga bank heist and a series of other robberies at banks, Internet cafes and a money changer in Medan last year were intended to finance the operations of a paramilitary training camp in Aceh, allegedly funded by Bashir.
However, Beben denied any link between the robberies and Bashir.
“The defendant didn’t know about the robberies. He might have disapproved of our actions,” he said of Bashir, who again skipped the hearing and chose to stay in the court’s holding cell during the witness examination.
Beben’s statement contradicts that of his lawyer, who told a Medan court last week that the robbery was purely criminal….