Amrozi bin Nurhasyim
Encyclopedia
Ali Amrozi bin Haji Nurhasyim (also known as Amrozi) (5 July 1962 – 9 November 2008) was an Indonesia
n executed for his part in the 2002 Bali bombings.
, East Java
and was the fifth of 13 children. He attended the Al-Mukmin Islamic school
founded by Abu Bakar Bashir
along with his brothers Mukhlas and Ali Imron. Amrozi was born in Tenggulun, East Java in 1962. His family were strictly religious, following the Wahhabist school of Islam which has its roots in Saudi Arabia. Amrozis' grandfather established the first pesantren or Islamic boarding school in Tenggulun. His father Nur Hasyim taught his sons that Javanese customs were considered heresy under Islamic law and were therefore to be eradicated. Nur Hasyim was involved in the Indonesian independence struggle against the Dutch, often regailing his sons with tales of heroism by his fellow Muslims.
Amrozi displayed little interest in school or religious studies. Police psychiatric reports undertaken after the Bali bombings describe him as "simple" and "shallow" and report that he was easily influenced by others. They describe him as having an immature personality and lower than normal intellectual capacity. Amrozis' brother, Ali Imron, reported that Amrozi was continually in trouble at school and at home, being banned and expelled by teachers and stealing items from his own home and selling them. He only made it to the second year of high school.
At the age of 23 Amrozi married for the first time. He married a local girl. The marriage lasted only two years, producing a daughter. He attempted high school again but dropped out soon after. Seemingly without purpose and lacking direction he began vandalising Javanese graves in his village in an apparent attempt to gain approval from his strictly religious and respected father. He mortified his parents by desecrating the grave of a respected village elder, subsequently spending a week in police custody.
Amrozis'elder brother Muklas was a respected member of a pesantren in Malaysia. Amrozi had not seen him for over ten years. He had been a stabilising influence to some degree in Amrozis' early adult years. Amrozi decided to visit Muklas but was initially shunned and rejected because of his errant ways. He was devastated by this and realised that to become accepted he needed to become a good Muslim. Amrozi ceased smoking and watching movies. He began praying five times a day in his efforts to gain the acceptance of Muklas. Muklas finally agreed to let him stay.
Amrozi was talented with his hands and became the local repairman, fixing cars and mobile phones. By trade he became a mechanic and owned the van used in the Sari Club bombing. It was Amrozi who purchased the explosives.
Amrozi was allegedly motivated by his view of American foreign policy, which he deemed to have an imperialist agenda toward the Islamic world.
In an interview with the chief of investigations, General I Made Mangku Pastika, when asked about Amrozi's feelings toward the attack said:
Amrozi's seemingly nonchalant demeanour throughout his trial earned him nicknames such as "The Smiling Assassin", "The Smiling Bomber" and "The Laughing Bomber".
's prison, he was moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan in October 2005. While in prison, on 12 May 2008, he re-married his first wife, Rahma, in a ceremony which was conducted in his absence in his home village, while remaining married to his current wife.
Together with the two other bombers (Imam Samudra and his brother, Mukhlas) who each received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the use of firing squads. Amrozi preferred beheading. In October 2008, he remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.
During the month, his final appeals were rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed by firing squad in early November 2008. According to a source in Indonesia's Attorney General Office, the executions were to be done before the end of Sunday, 9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. From Amrozi's family, his younger brother, Ali Fauzi was sent as a representative of his family.
Amrozi, along with Imam Samudra and Huda bin Abdul Haq
were shot at 00.15 local time
on 9 November 2008. They were executed by firing squad. Despite his carefree demeanor throughout his trial and incarceration, he was reported to have been pale faced and shaking in the moments before his execution.
Neighbour. S, "In the Shadow of the Swords" HarperCollins publishers 2004
Sarah Copland. “Psychological Profiling of Terrorists: A Case Study of the Bali Bombers and Jemaah Islamiyah.” A Report Prepared for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Counter-Terrorism Branch, October 2005.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n executed for his part in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Early life
He was a native of LamonganLamongan
Lamongan is a regency of East Java, Indonesia, with an area of .Lamongan Regency is surrounded by:*Northern side : Java Sea*Southern side : Regency of Mojokerto and Jombang*Eastern side : Gresik Regency...
, East Java
East Java
East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east and to its north East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and...
and was the fifth of 13 children. He attended the Al-Mukmin Islamic school
Al-Mukmin Islamic school
The Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school also known as Pesantren Al-Mukmin and Pondok Ngruki, is a pesantren located in Ngruki, a suburb in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It was founded 1972 by the alleged 'spiritual head' of Jemaah Islamiah, Abu Bakar Bashir, and by Abdullah Sungkar...
founded by Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir
Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir Abu Bakar Bashir (also Abubakar Ba'asyir, Abdus Somad, and Ustad Abu ("Teacher Abu"), born 17 August 1938, is an Indonesian Muslim cleric and leader of the Indonesian Mujahedeen Council (MMI)....
along with his brothers Mukhlas and Ali Imron. Amrozi was born in Tenggulun, East Java in 1962. His family were strictly religious, following the Wahhabist school of Islam which has its roots in Saudi Arabia. Amrozis' grandfather established the first pesantren or Islamic boarding school in Tenggulun. His father Nur Hasyim taught his sons that Javanese customs were considered heresy under Islamic law and were therefore to be eradicated. Nur Hasyim was involved in the Indonesian independence struggle against the Dutch, often regailing his sons with tales of heroism by his fellow Muslims.
Amrozi displayed little interest in school or religious studies. Police psychiatric reports undertaken after the Bali bombings describe him as "simple" and "shallow" and report that he was easily influenced by others. They describe him as having an immature personality and lower than normal intellectual capacity. Amrozis' brother, Ali Imron, reported that Amrozi was continually in trouble at school and at home, being banned and expelled by teachers and stealing items from his own home and selling them. He only made it to the second year of high school.
At the age of 23 Amrozi married for the first time. He married a local girl. The marriage lasted only two years, producing a daughter. He attempted high school again but dropped out soon after. Seemingly without purpose and lacking direction he began vandalising Javanese graves in his village in an apparent attempt to gain approval from his strictly religious and respected father. He mortified his parents by desecrating the grave of a respected village elder, subsequently spending a week in police custody.
Amrozis'elder brother Muklas was a respected member of a pesantren in Malaysia. Amrozi had not seen him for over ten years. He had been a stabilising influence to some degree in Amrozis' early adult years. Amrozi decided to visit Muklas but was initially shunned and rejected because of his errant ways. He was devastated by this and realised that to become accepted he needed to become a good Muslim. Amrozi ceased smoking and watching movies. He began praying five times a day in his efforts to gain the acceptance of Muklas. Muklas finally agreed to let him stay.
Amrozi was talented with his hands and became the local repairman, fixing cars and mobile phones. By trade he became a mechanic and owned the van used in the Sari Club bombing. It was Amrozi who purchased the explosives.
2002 Bali bombing and trial
His two brothers Ali Ghufron (aka Mukhlas) and Ali Imron were also both involved in the 2002 Bali bombings. Mukhlas is suspected of converting Amrozi to militancy when the two were reunited in Malaysia in the late 1980s. Both of his brothers were also taken into police custody, and Mukhlas was executed with him.Amrozi was allegedly motivated by his view of American foreign policy, which he deemed to have an imperialist agenda toward the Islamic world.
In an interview with the chief of investigations, General I Made Mangku Pastika, when asked about Amrozi's feelings toward the attack said:
Amrozi's seemingly nonchalant demeanour throughout his trial earned him nicknames such as "The Smiling Assassin", "The Smiling Bomber" and "The Laughing Bomber".
Sentence and execution
On 7 August 2003, he was found guilty for his role in the Bali bombing and sentenced to death by firing squad. His execution was delayed for 5 years, due to legal technicalities: the law under which he was convicted was not in effect at the time of the bombing, and it was ruled illegal by the Indonesian High Court in July 2004. Originally incarcerated in DenpasarDenpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
's prison, he was moved to the high-security prison island of Nusakambangan in October 2005. While in prison, on 12 May 2008, he re-married his first wife, Rahma, in a ceremony which was conducted in his absence in his home village, while remaining married to his current wife.
Together with the two other bombers (Imam Samudra and his brother, Mukhlas) who each received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the use of firing squads. Amrozi preferred beheading. In October 2008, he remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.
During the month, his final appeals were rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed by firing squad in early November 2008. According to a source in Indonesia's Attorney General Office, the executions were to be done before the end of Sunday, 9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. From Amrozi's family, his younger brother, Ali Fauzi was sent as a representative of his family.
Amrozi, along with Imam Samudra and Huda bin Abdul Haq
Huda bin Abdul Haq
Huda bin Abdul Haq was an Indonesian who was convicted and executed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings...
were shot at 00.15 local time
UTC+7
UTC+07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +07:00. In ISO 8601 the associated time would be written as .Also known as Indochina Time , it is used in:-As standard time :*Australia...
on 9 November 2008. They were executed by firing squad. Despite his carefree demeanor throughout his trial and incarceration, he was reported to have been pale faced and shaking in the moments before his execution.
External links
- "Bomb!" cries happy Amrozi (Sydney Morning Herald, August 7, 2003)
- Protesters storm bomber's prison (SMH, October 12 2005)
- BBC Profile: Amrozi
- CNN Amrozi: Bali's 'smiling bomber'
- Bali bombers' execution date set
Neighbour. S, "In the Shadow of the Swords" HarperCollins publishers 2004
Sarah Copland. “Psychological Profiling of Terrorists: A Case Study of the Bali Bombers and Jemaah Islamiyah.” A Report Prepared for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Counter-Terrorism Branch, October 2005.