The 1985 Borobudur bombing occurred on 21 January 1985 when nine bombs detonated at the Borobudur Buddhist temple located in

Magelang Magelang () is one of six cities in Central Java that are administratively independent of the regencies in which they lie geographically. Each of these cities is governed by a mayor rather than a ''bupati''. Magelang city covers an area of 18. ...

Central Java Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakart ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. There were no human casualties in this attack; however, nine

stupas A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

on the upper rounded terraces of Arupadhatu were badly damaged by bombs.

Perpetrator

In 1991, a blind Muslim preacher, Husein Ali Al Habsyi, was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

for masterminding a series of bombings in the mid-1980s including this temple attack. It is believed that the attack was in retaliation from the Tanjung Priok massacre in 1984. During trial, Habsyi refused to be held responsible for the attack and mentioned Mohammad Jawad, a mysterious figure, as the true mastermind. The identity of Mohammad Jawad remains unknown. On 23 March 1999 Habsyi was pardoned and released by Indonesian President B. J. Habibie's administration. Two other members of a right-wing extremist group that carried out the bombings were each sentenced to 20 years in 1986 and another man received a 13-year prison term.

References

Terrorist incidents in Indonesia 1985 crimes in Indonesia Borobudur History of Java Attacks on religious buildings and structures in Asia Persecution of Buddhists January 1985 events in Asia Islamic terrorism in Indonesia Terrorist incidents in Indonesia in 1985 {{Indonesia-hist-stub

Perpetrator

See also

References