On the 2000 Christmas Eve, a series of explosions took place in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, which were part of a high-scale terrorist attack by
Al Qaeda and
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...
. The attack involved a series of coordinated bombings of churches in
Jakarta and eight other cities which killed 18 people and injured many others.
Bombing locations
A breakdown of the bombings is as follows:
*Jakarta: Five
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
churches, including the
Roman Catholic Cathedral, were targeted, killing at least three people.
*
Pekanbaru: Four police officers killed trying to disarm a bomb; a civilian also died
*
Medan
Medan (; English: ) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, as well as a regional hub and financial centre of Sumatra. According to the National Development Planning Agency, Medan is one of the four mai ...
: Explosions hit churches
*
Bandung: Explode at production, bomb maker died
*
Batam Island
Batam is the largest city in the province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. The city administrative area covers three main islands of Batam, Rempang, and Galang (collectively called Barelang), as well as several small islands. Batam Island is the c ...
: Three bombs injure 22
*
Mojokerto
Mojokerto ( jv, ꦩꦗꦏꦼꦂꦠ (''Måjåkěrtå'')) is a city in East Java Province, Indonesia. It is located 40 km southwest of Surabaya, and constitutes one of the component units of the Surabaya metropolitan area (known as Gerbangkert ...
: Three churches bombed; one dead. One of them is the
Eben Haezer church in Jalan Raden Ajeng Kartini. At around 8:30pm on December 24, 2000, while trying to throw the bomb away, a Muslim security volunteer, Riyanto, was killed;
*
Mataram: Three churches bombed
*
Sukabumi: Bombings kill three
Arrests
Two suspects were arrested following the bombings. Indonesian police say they found documents implicating
Hambali
Riduan Isamuddin also transliterated as Riduan Isamudin, Riduan Isomuddin, and Riduan Isomudin, better known by the '' nom de guerre'' Hambali, born as Encep Nurjaman (April 4, 1964) is the former military leader of the Indonesian terrorist org ...
in the bombings.
Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir ( ; ar, أبو بكر باعشير, ʾAbū Bakr Bāʿašīr; ; ; born 17 August 1938) also known as Abu Bakar Bashir, Abdus Somad, and Ustad Abu ("Teacher Abu") is an Indonesian Muslim cleric and leader of Jamaah Ansharut Tauh ...
was tried for involvement in the bombings in 2003 but was found not guilty; he was subsequently convicted of involvement in the
2002 Bali bombing.
In popular culture
The Indonesian
progressive metal
Progressive metal (sometimes shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral ...
band
Kekal
Kekal (sometimes stylized as KEKAL) is a heavy metal and electronic music band formed in 1995 in Jakarta, Indonesia. According to AllMusic, Kekal was one of the first heavy metal bands from Indonesia to make international inroads, and accordin ...
has cited the bombings as an inspiration for its anti-terrorism song "Mean Attraction," which appeared on its third full-length album, ''
The Painful Experience
''The Painful Experience'' is the third full-length studio album by Indonesian extreme metal band Kekal. It marks the transition of Kekal from straightforward melodic black metal to a more distinct progressive metal style, while still retaining t ...
''.
See also
*
Terrorism in Indonesia
Terrorism in Indonesia refer to acts of terrorism that take place within Indonesia or attacks on Indonesian people or interests abroad. These acts of terrorism often target the government of Indonesia or foreigners in Indonesia, most notably We ...
*
Christmas in Indonesia
Christmas in Indonesia (locally known as ''Natal'', from the Portuguese word for Christmas) is celebrated with various traditions throughout the country. Indonesia has approximately 28 million Christians (of which about 30% are Roman Catholics). ...
*
Freedom of religion in Indonesia
The Indonesian constitution provides some degree of freedom of religion. The government generally respects religious freedom for the six officially recognized religions (Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism) and/or f ...
References
External links
Jemaah Islamiyah Shown to Have Significant Ties to al QaedaChristmas Eve bombings target Christians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indonesia Bombings
Attacks in Asia in 2000
Jemaah Islamiyah
Mass murder in 2000
Terrorist incidents in Indonesia in 2000
Persecution of Christians in Indonesia
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2000
Improvised explosive device bombings in Indonesia
2000 murders in Indonesia
December 2000 events in Asia
Islamic terrorism in Indonesia
Church bombings by Islamists