Jakarta – An Indonesian Islamic magazine has named detained terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir as "Man of the Year" for, what it calls, his steadfast struggle to uphold Islamic law in Indonesia.

The bi-weekly Sabili, one of the best-selling in Indonesia, said Bashir was an exemplary figure who had never flinched from his struggle to uphold Islamic law, or Syariah, despite persecution.

"Bashir is a person we should look up to," the magazine said in its editorial. "If Bashir, most of whose entire life has been devoted to upholding Islamic Syariah, should be called a terrorist, being terrorists might as well be our goal," it said.

His picture adorned the magazine's cover along with a banner reading: "Ustadz Ba'asyir. Fighting Hostile Unbelievers." Bashir, 64, has been detained since October 20 as a suspect in a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 and in a plot to assassinate Megawati Sukarnoputri before she became President.

He was arrested after Omar al-Faruq, an alleged Al-Qaeda operative in American custody, implicated him in terrorist operations in Indonesia.