Imam Samudra was born Abdul Aziz on January 14, 1970, in Serang, a city in the Banten region of western Java, Indonesia. He was one of twelve children raised by a single mother in a modest household. From an early age, Samudra immersed himself in Islamic education, attending and graduating from a local Islamic school.

In 1990, Samudra left home and disappeared from his family's life for nearly a decade. During this period, he traveled to Malaysia, where he became a teacher at a religious boarding school in the country's south. This institution was later identified by Indonesian intelligence as being linked to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), an extremist Islamist group with regional operations. The school was reportedly associated with two of the group’s prominent figures: Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the spiritual leader, and Riduan Isamuddin, better known by his alias Hambali.

Imam Samudra was a central figure in two of the most devastating terrorist attacks in modern Indonesian history: the Christmas Eve Bombings of 2000 and the Bali Bombings of 2002.

On October 12, 2002, two powerful bombs detonated in the popular Kuta tourist district of Bali, Indonesia. The first bomb exploded inside Paddy's Irish Bar, a favorite spot for foreign visitors. Seconds later, a second and even more destructive bomb, concealed inside a van, detonated outside the nearby Sari Club. The twin blasts killed 202 people, including tourists from Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Indonesia. A third bomb exploded near the U.S. consulate, though it caused no casualties.

The attacks were timed to maximize destruction and fear. Investigations revealed that the operation had been meticulously planned, and Imam Samudra was identified as the mastermind or field commander behind the attack.

Samudra was arrested on November 21, 2002, while attempting to board a ferry to Sumatra. He was in possession of documents linking him to the bombings. He remained largely unrepentant during his detention, telling Indonesian filmmaker Daniel Rudi Haryanto in prison that he believed his actions were justified by Islamic teachings and that the West, particularly Jews and Christians, feared the power of the Quran more than they feared oil politics or nuclear weapons. For him, the bombings were part of a spiritual war that would continue until “Islam gets the victory.”

Samudra’s trial began on June 2, 2003, in a heavily guarded courtroom. On July 16, during his testimony, he declared that the bombings were “justified” retaliation against the West’s alleged crimes against Muslims. Despite global condemnation, Samudra and his co-conspirators refused to express remorse.

On September 10, 2003, Imam Samudra was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was initially held in Kerobokan Prison in Bali before being transferred to the high-security Nusakambangan Island prison, where many of Indonesia's most dangerous convicts were kept.

Alongside fellow bombers Amrozi and Huda bin Abdul Haq (Muklas), Samudra contested the method of execution, arguing that firing squad was un-Islamic, and requested beheading instead. Though they initially refused to file for clemency, in 2006, the three men authorized their lawyers to submit a last-minute appeal on the grounds that the retroactive nature of the anti-terrorism law under which they were convicted was unconstitutional.

Indonesia’s Supreme Court rejected their appeals in September 2008, and in October, the Attorney General’s office confirmed that execution would proceed. Imam Samudra remained unrepentant to the end, and even warned that revenge would be taken for his death.

At 00:15 on November 9, 2008, Imam Samudra, along with Amrozi and Muklas, was executed by firing squad on Nusakambangan Island. Despite expectations, no family member was present to identify his body.