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Sunday, October 02, 2005
  The little peanut brains have struck again.

We'll have to wait until for Indcoup's more acerbic take on the mentality, or lack of one, of the perpetraitors (sic or, if you prefer, sick) of last night's bomb outrages in Bali.

For the moment, maybe Jason Burke in the Observer has best encapsulated the reasoning, if you'll excuse such an inappropriate word to describe motivation, of the bombers.

Now it is almost inconceivable that yesterday's bombers could have been acting as part of some grand, co-ordinated strategy by a South East Asian group, let alone on the orders of someone up a mountain in Afghanistan. But the most important lesson of the previous Bali bombing comes from the target, chosen by the militants themselves. The tourist nightclubs they hit were obvious and vulnerable. Others were more emotional.

As local people, the bombers were denied entry to the clubs, which they apparently resented. The clubs and the tourists were seen as alien intruders - 'dirty people', one bomber said, and brazen about their 'adulterous practices'. In the bombers' minds the attacks were a blow against moral pollution and a step to creating a Dar ul Islam.

The latest attacks will be born of the same feelings, probably fused with anti-Western, anti-Semitic nihilism. They show again that killing militants or jailing them can only be a short-term solution. They also demonstrate the fundamental moderation of most of the 270 million Indonesians, who have little sympathy for the killers in their midst.

Jason suggests that last night's targets were selected because the bombers were denied entry. He is probably right. But then Bali, apart from the northern coastal strip, is not renowned for its Muslim culture and, rather like the Christians in Bandung, Muslims seeking a place of worship in the tourist havens of Kuta and elsewhere in southern Bali may well feel alienated.

But then, I too feel alienated in places like Kuta Town Square, a development of boutiques and restaurants which, both architecturally and commercially, does not offer a 'Bali experience'. So I exercise my right not to go there.

Jimbaran, however, does have an appeal. It is noted for its seafood restaurants on the beach which offer great meals with stunning sunsets. It is a thriving community offering an 'authentic' experience to those with a desire to share the glories of Nature.

And therein, I believe, lies the fundamental problem of the so-called fundamentalists. They are unable to share; what they can't partake of they must destroy. They have a narrow view of life and are, therefore, small-minded; peanut-brained in other words.

One small afterthought. Was there any significance in the timing?

It is 3 days before the start of Ramadhan, the fasting month, when Muslims are supposed to refrain from angry thoughts and actions.

Wednesday is also significant in Bali; Galungan is the most important holiday symbolizing the victory of Virtue (Dharma) upon Evil (Adharma).

That's two perverted reasons for pre-emptive strikes.
 

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