http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/08/14/ba039asyir-leads-hero039s-funeral-two-slain-suspects.html
Ba'asyir leads hero's funeral for two slain suspects Suherdjoko and Blontank Poer , The Jakarta Post , Sragen | Fri, 08/14/2009 2:11 PM | Headlines The bodies of terror suspects Air Setyawan and Eko Joko Sarjono received a hero's welcome from hundreds of hard-line Muslims as they were laid to rest in Sragen, Central Java, on Thursday. Chanting Allahu Akbar (God is great), supporters in the 200-vehicle-strong convoy departed with the bodies from Brengosan village in neighboring Surakarta at around 9:30 a.m. By contrast, residents of Samparo village in Kuningan, West Java, had protested the burial of another terror suspect, Ibrohim, in the village, forcing his family to bury him in Jakarta on Wednesday. Ibrohim was shot dead by a police counterterrorism squad during an overnight siege on a farmhouse in Temanggung, Central Java, on Saturday. Samparo villagers said Ibrohim was a disgrace to their home village, and a migrant, not a native, to boot. Police shot dead Air and Eko during a raid on a house in Jati Asih, Bekasi, early Saturday. The officers uncovered hundreds of kilograms of explosive material in the house. The police later announced they suspected the materials were meant to be used to bomb President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's private residence in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java. The convoy for the bodies of Air and Eko was led by Abubakar Ba'asyir, a hard-line Muslim cleric who was once jailed for his role in the Bali bombings in 2002, in which 202 people were killed. "We should pray for Eko and Air to be rewarded and forgiven by Allah, although the way they embraced jihad was different from how it should have been," said Ba'asyir, founder of the Ngruki Islamic boarding school in Surakarta, when leading the funeral prayer. He added the two suspects had died as martyrs because they fought for Islamic sharia. Air and Eko were buried side by side at the Muslim Kaliyoso public cemetery in Sragen. The land for the cemetery was donated by Surakarta businessman Soeparno Zainal Abidin, who built it specifically for Muslims who performed the obligatory prayers five times a day. The entry gate to the cemetery proclaims it as, "The Special Cemetery for Those who Perform Prayers." The bodies of the two terror suspects had earlier been taken by ambulance from Jakarta to their hometown in Brengosan village, Surakarta, arriving at around 1:25 a.m. Thursday. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
