Bali bombers' family expresses pride in their acts

Tariyem kept smiling and even shared joyful conversations with guests visiting to express condolences over the executions of her sons Amrozi and Ali Ghufron, also known as Mukhlas.

The two were executed by firing squads in the early morning of Nov. 9 for their involvement in the 2002 bombing attacks on the Indonesian resort island Bali in which, 202 people, mostly Western holidaymakers, were killed.

''I'm not sad. Instead, I'm very proud of my sons, because they died for defending Islam,'' Tariyem, who like many Indonesians only has a single name, told Kyodo News in an interview.

''If they returned home alive, it means their missions had failed,'' she said.

Soon after the executions, the Bali bombers' family held what they called a ''celebration'' of their deaths. And last week, five days after the executions, a cheerful party atmosphere still prevailed.

Nine goats were slaughtered for the ''celebration,'' Muhammad Chozin, the Bali bombers' 51-year-old elder brother, said. And food and drink were served for the guests who still continue to come.

''Please eat, we slaughtered and cooked goats for you,'' Tariyem told Kyodo's visiting reporters.

Grilled goat, ''pecel'' mixed vegetables in peanut sauce, fried chicken, ''bakwan udang'' shrimp cake and fried tempeh were served on plates placed on a mat.

The 75-year-old woman said she cooked the dishes as they were favorite food of Choiriyana Khususiyati, Amrozi's first wife who decided to move to her mother-in-law's house after her husband's execution.

Tariyem herself scuttled back and forth inside her house to welcome guests as they shared jokes and laughter.

''My sons have already had good places in heaven. Their souls have been brought by green birds (from heaven),'' Tariyem said.

''They smiled in their grave, their faces looked peaceful as if they were still alive and only sleeping,'' she added. ''They had no burden because their missions had been accomplished and this party is a celebration for their victory.''

The terrorists' elder sister Afiyah, 55, said her brothers did the right thing in deciding to launch bombing attacks on Bali.

''They didn't agree with what the infidels had done. And Bali has become a place of adultery, sinful dancing, alcoholic drinks, committed by the infidels,'' she quoted her brothers as saying when they were alive.

''They were not afraid to die because dying in God's way to defend Islam was their longtime wish,'' she added.

Born in 1963, Chozin recalled that in his teen days, Amrozi was like other teenagers of his age. He liked motor-racing, wore his hair long and preferred to chat with friends in coffee shops rather than praying at the mosque.

''He liked modifying his friends' motorcycles to make them run faster and creating special antennas for cellular phones to make their signals stronger,'' Chozin said.

But when he was 28, Amrozi joined Mukhlas, who was 3 years older, in Malaysia.

At that time, Mukhlas had just returned from fighting in the Afghanistan-Soviet war and founded a school to train operatives of Jemaah Islamiyah, believed to be the Southeast Asia wing of international terrorist network al-Qaida.

Upon returning from Malaysia, Amrozi was changed. He left his old hobbies and preferred to read religious books.

Mukhlas, an influential JI leader with reported ties to Osama bin Laden, later recruited Amrozi and his other younger brother Ali Imron to handle the logistics of the Bali bombing plot.

Imron is serving a life sentence for the bombing attacks after his death penalty was commuted for his cooperation with police in disclosing his brothers' network.

Still, Chozin thinks his brothers innocent.

''They were not terrorists,'' he said. ''They bombed Bali because the island is the place of Americans and Australians, who support wars against Muslim people in Afghanistan and Palestine.''

As their brother said, until their deaths, Amrozi and Mukhlas kept defending their ''acts to protect Islam'' and Muslims.

And like their mother and supporters, both were proud of their acts and brought the pride to their graves.

About 200 meters from their house in the East Java Province village, their graves are obvious.

A signboard hangs from a tree, proudly marks ''The graves of Islam warriors, the defenders of the truth, Mukhlas bin Nur Hasyim and Amrozi bin Nur Hasyim.''Nur Hasyim was their father.

And with continued pride, Tariyem continues to welcome guests.//Kyodo News//Christine T. Tjandraningsih -- November 18, 2008