People’s enthusiasm for politics was welling up; the 1999 General Election was to be held shortly. But, on April 19 three years ago, an explosion on the ground floor of the Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta, shook the capital city. The blast blew out all the glass in the windows in a row of offices used by various Islamic organizations. A number of rooms were leveled and five people were injured. Losses were estimated at over Rp3 billion.

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