Top terrorist ‘may be master hypnotist’
`Amid fears that Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist will strike again, some police have a new theory: Noordin Top is using hypnotism to elude capture and recruit more suicide bombers. [..]
As fears rise, reports say some police in notoriously superstitious Indonesia believe Noordin may have the ability to hypnotise people, using his mental powers to escape his pursuers and recruit more bombers.
“A village chief fell unconscious after kissing the hand of a man resembling Noordin,” one policeman told the latest edition of Tempo news magazine.
The magazine said the chief’s mind went blank “like he was hypnotised” after meeting a “tabib”, or traditional healer, who looked like Noordin.
One officer said police believed even a skilled religious preacher would have difficulty finding so many followers willing to kill themselves for a cause.’
