RADICAL MUSLIM GROUP SLAMS ANTI-TERRORISM INITIATIVE

http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Security&loid=8.0.388705880&par=0

Jakarta, 21 Feb. (AKI) - The Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) a hardline group led by controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir - alleged by some to be the spiritual leader of the terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) - has condemned an anti-terrorism initiative sponsored by several Islamic nations including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. The plan, which tries to promote moderate Islam among the youth of those countries, is "part of an American project aimed at associating terrorism with Islam," MMI spokesperson Fauzan al-Anshori told Adnkronos International (AKI).

"What do they know about Jihad?" he added. "We should see the big picture (within which the initiative has been formulated). "This is part of a wider scenario that sees America scared of the rising power of Islam and implementing a carrot-and-stick strategy to fight Muslims." The MMI's objective is to promote the implementation in Indonesia.

The four nations involved in the initiative will promote a series of publications, organise conferences and share information aimed at promoting moderate Islam according to the director of Jarkarta's anti-terrorism bureau, Ansyaad Mbai.

"The programme has been devised to improve the comprehension people have of true Islam," Mbai was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.

"At the moment, the terrorists are misinterpreting Islamic doctrine, for example, Jihad," he added.

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"The conversion of the entire population to Islam and the extinction of every form of dissent is the ideal of the Muslim State - This is Islamic Peace"

A moderate Moslem is one who sends others blow themselves up.