Abu Bakar Bashir (second from left) arrives at the Jakarta court escorted by police commandos on June 16, 2011 to face a verdict on terrorism charges. - AFP
JAKARTA: When South-East Asia's premier spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir pledged allegiance last July to the extremist Islamic State (IS), a group so brutal even al-Qaeda cut off ties with them, his two sons abandoned him.
Abu Bakar, 76, is widely seen as the godfather of Salafi jihadists and wields tremendous influence in the region, including Malaysia.
