Calm in the Storm

Perhaps the most encouraging development of detained Muslim cleric and alleged Jemaah Islamiah (JI) leader Abubakar Ba'asyir's first day in court last Wednesday was what happened outside of it: nothing. Only a handful of curious passersby peeked into the Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics in North Jakarta, where the proceedings are being held. Security was conspicuously light; police were armed only with batons. Abubakar, who maintains his innocence, sat impassively as prosecutors read out the four charges against him: treason, plotting to assassinate the President and two immigration violations.

Just...