Amrozi Bin Nurhasyim - Early Life

Early Life

He was a native of Lamongan, East Java and was the fifth of 13 children. He attended the Al-Mukmin Islamic school founded by Abu Bakar Bashir along with his brothers Mukhlas and Ali Imron. Amrozi was born in Tenggulun, East Java in 1962. His family were strictly religious, following the Wahhabist school of Islam which has its roots in Saudi Arabia. Amrozis' grandfather established the first pesantren or Islamic boarding school in Tenggulun. His father Nur Hasyim taught his sons that Javanese customs were considered heresy under Islamic law and were therefore to be eradicated. Nur Hasyim was involved in the Indonesian independence struggle against the Dutch, often regailing his sons with tales of heroism by his fellow Muslims. Amrozi displayed little interest in school or religious studies. Police psychiatric reports undertaken after the Bali bombings describe him as "simple" and "shallow" and report that he was easily influenced by others. They describe him as having an immature personality and lower than normal intellectual capacity. Amrozis' brother, Ali Imron, reported that Amrozi was continually in trouble at school and at home, being banned and expelled by teachers and stealing items from his own home and selling them. He only made it to the second year of high school. At the age of 23 Amrozi married for the first time. He married a local girl. The marriage lasted only two years, producing a daughter. He attempted high school again but dropped out soon after. Seemingly without purpose and lacking direction he began vandalising Javanese graves in his village in an apparent attempt to gain approval from his strictly religious and respected father. He mortified his parents by desecrating the grave of a respected village elder, subsequently spending a week in police custody. Amrozis'elder brother Muklas was a respected member of a pesantren in Malaysia. Amrozi had not seen him for over ten years. He had been a stabilising influence to some degree in Amrozis' early adult years. Amrozi decided to visit Muklas but was initially shunned and rejected because of his errant ways. He was devastated by this and realised that to become accepted he needed to become a good Muslim. Amrozi ceased smoking and watching movies. He began praying five times a day in his efforts to gain the acceptance of Muklas. Muklas finally agreed to let him stay. Amrozi was talented with his hands and became the local repairman, fixing cars and mobile phones. By trade he became a mechanic and owned the van used in the Sari Club bombing. It was Amrozi who purchased the explosives.