It does not take him long to get back into the news!

Bashir Denies Plot to Undermine Yudhoyono


High-profile defendant Abu Bakar Bashir has denied knowledge of plans to topple the government after he was named in the advisory council of alternative cabinet line-up drafted by the Islamic People’s Forum (FUI).

“I’m not against SBY [Yudhoyono]. It’s the system that I oppose,” Bashir said ahead of his hearing at South Jakarta District Court on Thursday.

“SBY may rule this country as long as he wants, if the country is based on the Islamic law,” said the 72-year-old.

FUI secretary general Muhammad Al Khaththath posted a detailed roster of a proposed Islamic government online on March 4, 2010, naming Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Habib Riziq as president and well-known radical Abu Jibril, a senior member of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, as vice president.

The list became widely known after Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday that “senior retired generals” were backing a number of Islamic hard-liner groups, including FUI and FPI, to undermine the government.

The firebrand cleric on Thursday said he had no knowledge of the so-called Islamic revolution council or plans for a coup.

“I don’t know anything about it. Where did your hear it from?” Bashir said, adding that he disliked being labeled a hard-liner.

“The term hard-liner was introduced by the infidels. The appropriate name is faithful Muslim, that is those who uphold the Islamic teachings no matter what,” he said from his holding cell.

There is also the term moderate Muslim for people who do not consistently observe Islam. They are widely praised, while consistent Muslims are called hard-liners.”