January 21st In History: Revealing The Reasons Why The Borobudur Temple Bombing Happened

Impact of the explosion at Borobudur Temple 1985 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - A series of chaotic events have occurred since the end of 1984 during the New Order era. One of them is the bombing incident at Borobudur Temple, Magelang which took place today January 21, 36 years ago or in 1985. The trigger was an effort to apply the single principle of Pancasila in every organization.

At that time, the Soeharto government wanted to make a Law (UU) which confirmed Pancasila as the sole principle in every organizational activity. Of course, secular parties or organizations have no problem with that. However, it is a different story for religious-based organizations or parties. Efforts to ratify this law have created bitter opposition.

The bombing of Borobudur Temple was actually an act of revenge for the Tanjung Priok incident where Muslims who were against the sole principle were shot at by the army. This incident then provoked a wide variety of people including the Muslim Brotherhood made by Husein Ali Al-Habsyi and Ibrahim Djawad.

Angga Novian Pratama et al in their article published in the Journal of Indonesia History in 2019 explained that Husein and Ibrahim worked together to carry out various acts of terror as an act of revenge. One of its goals is the church. They targeted the church as an expression of anger towards Christians who were considered to be allies with Suharto who oppressed Muslims.

Husein Ali Habsyi and his friends agreed to take revenge through terror. Before blowing up the Borobudur Temple they bombed the Sasana Budaya Catholic Church in Malang.

The reason they targeted Borobudur Temple was to emulate the purity of Islam. Because they consider Borobudur temple a symbol of idolatry. They also have a political reason: as a warning to Suharto and his family, because the Borobudur Temple will be banned by Titiek Soeharto who has received approval from the Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications (Parpostel).

If the church bomb uses the code for Christmas Party, the plan to blow up Borobudur uses the password for Camping. Ibrahim then assembled the remaining explosives that were used to bomb churches on Christmas Eve.

Chronology of the bombings

The bombing of Borobudur Temple was held on the evening of January 20. Around 7 pm they left by bus from Lawang to Yogyakarta. After arriving at the inn, Ibrahim and his partner, Achmad Muladawila, began moving towards the location with a bag containing 14 assembled bombs.

They entered the temple area through the south door. At around 8pm, they arrived atop Borobudur Temple. Ibrahim and Achmad placed 13 time bombs on the stupas.

Each of the bombs is expected to explode 5 hours later or at 1 a.m. today 36 years ago. After successfully installing the bomb, they immediately left the temple for Magelang and then for Semarang.

The dynamite then exploded at 1.30 to 3.30 WIB. According to witnesses the bomb explosion was heard nine times. As a result, nine stupas collapsed, two statues were destroyed, and two other statues were heavily damaged.

The explosion caused by the bomb was heard until it was felt by the surrounding community. "The house shook with glass, doors, windows and others. I immediately got a report from my subordinates that the Borobudur Temple was bombed. Then we contacted the relevant agencies, "said Head of Borobudur Temple Security, Basjuni Supriyadi.

The incident was not rushed through until two months of investigation by the authorities. The new apparatus got a bright spot when the accident occurred, namely the explosion of the Express Youth Bus in Banyuwangi which led to the arrest of Abdulkadir Ali Al-Habsyi who was none other than the younger brother of Husein bin Ali Al-Habsyi.

Abdulkadir's examination process bore fruit. The authorities then succeeded in arresting Achamd Muladawila on 19 April 1985. Their networks, one by one, began to be arrested, including Abdulkadir Braja and Basiurn Sinere.

Achmad and Abdulkadir Ali-Alhabsyi were later sentenced to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, Husein was given life imprisonment, which prosecutors had previously demanded the death penalty. They served their sentences until the Habibie government gave it to Husein so that he could breathe free air on March 23, 1999.