A rash of mysterious bombings hit Indonesia even before September 11.

Churches were systematically bombed, priests attacked and shopping malls were also not spared, creating a climate of fear.

Indonesian police now have enough data to link these bombings to religious extremists here with political ambitions to set up a pan-Islamic state across Southeast Asia.

Extremists who support Al Qaeda's and its leader Osama bin Laden - still wanted by the US, dead or alive.

Southeast Asia's Al Qaeda network has so far been traced to Indonesia.

The regional spiritual leader is reportedly Indonesian national Abu Bakar Baasyir, who runs Majlis Mujahideen Indonesia.

Indonesian police have questioned him but were unable to arrest him because of so-called legal constraints.

Police here say his organisation is controlled by Hambali and Imam Samudra - also Indonesians and Al Qaeda's ground commanders operating in the region.

Police say both are highly wanted suspects and both are now missing.

Two other Indonesians have already been jailed in the Philippines for demolition and carrying weapons.

World-wide, Al Qaeda detainees are zealots or faithfuls, sucked into the extremist world of hatred and violence - which peaked when the World Trade Centre was viciously brought down.

Currently, more than 500 prisoners are still being held by the US in top security prisons in Cuba.

An Indonesian national who knew the September 11 hijackers was recently freed by a US Court after the District Judge found no evidence linking him to the attacks.

Agus Budiman arrived home to Jakarta two weeks ago, tells Channel NewsAsia's Indonesia Bureau Chief, Haseenah Koyakutty, his story.

32-year-old Agus Budiman is from an educated, middle-class Indonesian family whose father and siblings were star performers in school.

So was he, he spent 11 years in Germany where he shone in Architecture, mastered the German language, a smattering of Spanish.

It was in Hamburg that he first became acquainted with Mohammad Atta, ring-leader and one of 19 hijackers who slammed a plane into the World Trade Centre.

They attended the same mosque in Hamburg, but Agus said he didn't know the hijackers led double-lives, describing Atta as a very quiet man.

When the attacks took place, Agus was in the US, busy, he says, pursuing a career and a second degree in Business Administration.

Agus Budiman recounts, "I found out from the Internet, somebody, my chatting partner, she told me the first time that WTC are attacked, is attacked, only one at first. I thought it was an accident, just smoke, this is like a movie. And, I told my partner, America can solve this problem. It's very quick and it's not a big deal for America with their technology."

From a pro-American family, little did Agus realise the irony in his words, September 11 later proved to be a phenomenal intelligence failure for the tech-savvy FBI.

But it didn't take the FBI long to come knocking on Agus Budiman's door in Virgina.

Agus had helped another Indonesian to get an identification card or ID, in the US.

That Indonesian, Mohammed Nasser Belfas, is listed as a contact for Osama bin Laden.

To get an ID, Nasser Belfas needed a registered address and had asked Agus for the use of his.

Agus agreed:"I agreed because I know him, so far, from my eyes, he's a good man. He came to the US with me. But he knew before that, that to get ID in Virginia is very easy
and he has asked me to do that. He said it was for a souvenir. I said OK for a souvenir."

A unique souvenir he thought, Nasser Belfas, a fan of all things American, would appreciate.

Agus has since pleaded guilty to document fraud and revealed that before September 11, many foreign nationals were mass marketing IDs illegally for various purposes, and business was brisk.

But Agus' name also appeared on the visa application of one of the hijackers who attacked the Pentagon and on the visa application of the would-be 20th hijacker.

Agus says he had never met them nor given the hijackers permission to use his name nor address.

US Intelligence sources found out the hijackers were keen to use Agus' Apartment in DC because Agus was staying just across from the Pentagon.

Agus says he had chosen the Apartment because it was centrally located, near a shopping mall and the subway.

Agus had passed FBI's lie detector test. A devout Muslim, the most religious in his family, Agus is still struggling with Islam.

Agus' faith strengthened after he was exposed to what he saw as Western decadence and hedonism.

While in Germany, Agus also met Muslim refugees fleeing the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and he slowly believed there was a malicious anti-Islam campaign out there.

Little did he realise, he claims, that his fellow worshippers, including Mohammad Atta would one day take the lives of innocents and shatter dreams.

Agus' friends and even his Polish girlfriend who converted to Islam has deserted him.

But Agus says he has many close friends abroad from other religions.

For now, he day-dreams of setting up an architectural business in Jakarta where humid houses, he says, could tap solar energy and draw on fengshui.

He may dabble in politics later.

Agus still locks a few secrets about his wayward acquaintances in Hamburg whom
he says misled him.

It's a story he hopes to tell one day.

Whatever Agus Budiman's past, his story is not that unusual.

Some unsuspecting and even well-meaning Muslims, are increasingly being swayed and some drawn to extremist teachings for various reasons, ignorance being one of them.

And ignorance is the biggest war that has yet to be staged.

Segments 1 | 2 | 3