Indonesia: Muslim group condemns suicide bombings

The head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization condemned suicide bombings on Sunday, and warned that terrorism was hurting the reputation of Islam as well as making life difficult for its followers. The remarks by Hazyim Muzadi will cheer proponents of Islamic moderation in the world's most populous Muslim nation, where some clerics resist denouncing terrorism for fear of being seen as subservient to the United States. "Killing is only justified in war," said Muzadi, the head of the Nahdatul Ulama, in remarks carried by the state news agency Antara on Sunday. "Terrorists who are acting in the name of Islam are ruining the religion's reputation as a blessing to the universe. Islam's followers both in Indonesia and abroad are being cornered as a result," he said. Nahdatul Ulama was established in the 1920s and claims some 40 million followers.