Muslims Jailed for Killing Christians
Pastor Dale Morgan
Muslims Jailed for Killing Christians*
The Associated Press
Monday, December 3, 2007; 2:33 PM
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Six Islamic militants were sentenced to up to 19
years in prison Monday for terrorist acts in eastern Indonesia that
include beheading three Christian schoolgirls and shooting to death a
priest.
The harshest sentences were given to Abdul Muis bin Kamarudin and Rahman
Kalahe, who were convicted in the 2006 killing of Rev. Irianto Kongkoli,
and in the beheadings in 2005. Both crimes were in Central Sulawesi
province.
The men were also punished for the shootings of two high school
students, and the bombing of a busy New Year's market that killed eight
people on Dec 31, 2005.
Kongkoli was shot in the head while shopping with his wife in Palu, the
provincial capital of Central Sulawesi.
Alleged members of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network left a
handwritten note close to the bodies of the girls, vowing more killings
to avenge the deaths of Muslims in earlier sectarian violence on
Sulawesi island.
The beheadings gave fresh impetus to the country's war on terrorism and
was followed by scores of arrests.
The South Jakarta District Court sentenced four others to jail terms
ranging from 10 and 18 years for bomb-making and plotting attacks
against Christians, applying a harsh anti-terror law imposed after the
2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
It was unclear if either side would appeal.
"This is a consequence of our struggle," said defendant Syaiful Anan, a
26-year-old militant from Tawangmangu in Central Java province, as
bailiffs took him from the courtroom. "Eighteen years is not a problem.
There will be a more noble trial before God."
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Wide-scale sectarian violence killed more than 2,000 people between 1998
and 2002 in the province, roughly split between Christians and Muslims.
Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population, with nearly 90
percent of its 235 million people practicing the faith.