Nine bombs were detonated at the Borobudur Buddhist temple located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia on 21 January 1985. There were no human casualties in this attack; however, nine stupas on the upper rounded terraces of Arupadhatu were badly damaged by bombs.[3][4]
In 1991, a blind Muslim preacher, Husein Ali Al Habsyi, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding a series of bombings in the mid-1980s including this temple attack.[5] 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.[4] 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.
