A militant Indonesian Islamic leader denied knowing reputed al-Qaeda kingpin Omar al-Faruq or being linked to terrorist acts in Indonesia.
"I don't understand any of this. I don't know him and only read about him in newspapers," Abu Bakar Ba'asyir told AFP by telephone from Central Java.
Time magazine reported in its September 23 issue that Ba'asyir authorized al-Faruq to use operatives and resources to bomb US embassies in Jakarta and elsewhere in the region near the first anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
The magazine said it based its allegations on a CIA report. Time said the CIA reported that al-Faruq confessed he was senior representative in Southeast Asia for al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden's terrorist network blamed for the September 11 attacks.
US diplomatic missions in Jakarta and Surabaya reopened Monday after a six-day shutdown which ambassador Ralph Boyce linked to a threat from al-Qaeda.
Ba'asyir is chairman of the Indonesian Mujahedin Council, an umbrella organization advocating Islamic law in the sprawling archipelago. A recent report by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group said Ba'asyir took a more radical stance after he became close to Gama Islami, a core group of al-Qaeda, in 1995.
Singapore has also labelled Ba'asyir a leader of the alleged terrorist organisation Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). "There's no such thing as Jemaah Islamiyah. I only led a Koranic study group called the Sunnah. Jemaah only existed in Egypt," Ba'asyir said.
His lawyer earlier told AFP Ba'asyir is preparing himself for arrest following the latest allegations against him. Ba'asyir is ready to face "all legal and political challenges" from the government, the lawyer, Mahendradatta, told AFP. "Mr. Ba'asyir is preparing himself for being arrested should the government decide to do so," he said.
According to Time, al-Faruq also said Ba'asyir was behind the bombing of Jakarta's Istiqlal mosque, damaged in April 1999 by an explosive placed outside the basement office of the Indonesia Ulemas Council (MUI) which represents Islamic religious leaders.
A leading human rights lawyer and investigator, Munir, expressed doubt Ba'asyir would have targeted the Muslim group. "I don't think Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has a problem with the MUI," Munir said.
Time said the CIA report called al-Faruq the mastermind of a co-ordinated series of deadly bombings at churches across Indonesia in 2000. But Munir said that if people like al-Faruq were involved, they weren't acting alone. "From the data I put together there were also internal elements, military elements," Munir told AFP.
The Detikcom online news service reported Thursday that police on Tuesday visited the Ngruki Islamic boarding school founded by Ba'asyir to gather information about one its graduates, Indrawarman.
"When I asked what's it about they replied that it's a police investigation," Detikcom quoted Ngruki's deputy director, Wahyuddin, as saying. "It seems he's connected with bomb explosions in Medan." Detikcom reported Indrawarman was a classmate of Fathur Rohman al-Gozi, who was detained early this year in the Philippines on explosives charges.
Indonesian police said Thursday they are questioning a German citizen of Arab descent only identified by his initials RS to find out if he has links with al-Faruq, who is currently detained in Afghanistan. His whereabouts and other details have not been disclosed.
Washington is concerned Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, may be home to al-Qaeda sympathisers. Most Indonesians practise a moderate brand of Islam.