Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – A humid 9-square-meter cell equipped with an air conditioner, a modest queen-sized bed and a private bathroom is where hard-line cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 72, spends his days since his arrest by the police counterterrorism squad on Aug. 9.
Located inside the detective building at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta, cell A4 is specifically tailored to confine the alleged terror mastermind whose many followers have been convicted of terrorism.
A security camera in the corner of the cell and bugging devices to monitor Ba'asyir's activities around the clock differentiate the cell from others.
When visited by The Jakarta Post several days before the Idul Fitri holiday, Ba'asyir was seen gearing up to cite the verses of the Koran inside his cell, which was also filled with packaged food, prescription drugs and neatly folded Islamic attire.
"They treat me well here," Ba'asyir said, adding that the only problem he had was with the condition of his stomach and heart.
"I have a chronic heart problem. But it has not flared up in the last month. Thank God for that. And the problem with my stomach is because I don't have much of an appetite here," he said, adding that he loved mutton dishes.
Ba'asyir's only complaint is with the police's decision to prohibit him from having an electric water heater to make hot drinks. "I'm just too old to walk to the kitchen and back every time I want a hot drink, so I need a kettle," he said.
Ba'asyir spent the first three weeks in the prison in solitary confinement, prohibited from interacting with other inmates. His neighboring inmates include the vocalist of pop rock band Peterpan Nazriel "Ariel" Irham, who was arrested on charges related to a sex video scandal allegedly involving the singer and two female celebrities.
After the solitary detention ended, Ba'asyir was free to walk throughout the prison compound, his charisma starting to lure many inmates to his daily sermons held at 10 a.m. in the prison's only spot for catching the day's sunlight.
At least a dozen inmates, but not including Ariel, have now become faithful listeners to Ba'asyir's sermon, mostly about tawhid (the concept of monotheism in Islam) and fi sabilillah jihad (armed fighting for the way of God).
"Ba'asyir is not the kind of cleric who regularly forces us to implement Islamic rules. He also never forces us to join his sermons. That's why we respect him," said one of the inmates. "We are drawn to him because he has this charisma and wisdom and he lets us interpret the sermons our own way."
Ba'asyir's charms are also evident during visiting hours every Tuesday afternoon and Friday evening when many relatives and friends of inmates approach Ba'asyir to shake or kiss his hand as a token of respect.
It has also become a common sight during visiting hours to see dozens of Ba'asyir followers traveling from Central Java and East Java to flock to a special room inside the prison compound set up specifically for Ba'asyir to receive them.
The male followers are mostly dressed in Afghan-style attire resembling Mujahideen fighters during the war in Afghanistan to fend off the invading Soviet Union in the 1980s, while the women are imprisoned in black burqas.
No tight security inspections are deployed to scan their belongings upon entering the prison other than separating them from regular visitors.
When meeting his followers, Ba'asyir regularly preaches about the importance of keeping the spirit alive in upholding the rules of Islam.
In an interview last week, Ba'asyir said prison walls would not stop him from spreading the word of God. "I can preach anywhere. It's my obligation to do so where ever I am," he said.
Ba'asyir was arrested for allegedly financing and organizing a terrorist military training camp in Aceh. The camp, operated by the late Dulmatin, was raided by police early this year.
This was Ba'asyir's second arrest on terrorism-related charges. He was first arrested in 2004 in relation to the 2002 Bali bombing. He was sentenced to 30 months prison in 2005 for his part in an "evil conspiracy".
Ba'asyir helped found the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Surakarta, Central Java. Several graduates of the school were involved in terrorist attacks, including Muklas, who was executed for masterminding the 2002 Bali bombing.
As the spiritual leader of terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), Ba'asyir has since the 1970s been the country's most persistent figure in demanding the establishment of an Islamic state.
In 1983, he was arrested along with his partner Abdullah Sungkar for encouraging followers to reject Pancasila (Indonesia's state ideology) and for teaching students to not acknowledge the Indonesian flag.
They were sentenced to nine years in prison but fled to Malaysia in 1985. It was during his time in Malaysia that he formed JI, forging ties with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. Ba'asyir also sent a group of Al Mukmin graduates to Afghanistan for military training.
The cleric is also the founder of Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an above-ground jihadist movement group whose members were involved in organizing the Aceh camp and were allegedly involved in the 2009 attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.
Ba'asyir said his activities in organizations related with the jihadist movement were aimed at correcting Islamic teaching and transforming Indonesia into an Islamic state through sermons.
"Define terrorism for me. What we do is actually the right path to correct the teachings, which have been abused for so long that it is no longer technically correct to call it Islam. I am obliged to spread the correct teaching to every Muslim who is now lost," he said.