SYDNEY (AFP)
Hardline Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has likened tourists to "worms, snakes, maggots" and called for signs to be placed in Muslim areas warning them to dress modestly, a report said Monday.
The preacher made the comments in a speech to an Islamic youth organization in east Java in October, The Australian said.
"Worms, snakes, maggots -- those are animals that crawl. Take a look at (the resort island of) Bali... those infidel tourists. They are naked," he said.
The sermon by Bashir, who served almost 26 months for conspiracy over the deadly Bali bombings of 2002 before being cleared and released, was videotaped by an Australian university student who was conducting research in the area.
In the address, Bashir also said that signs should be placed in Muslim areas to tell western tourists to dress modestly.
More than 90 percent of Indonesia's 232 million people are Muslim. Most follow a moderate version of Islam.
