OBAMA WILL VISIT INDONESIA

This is the headline of newspapers that Indonesian people want to read these days. There is no doubt that Indonesian people are very impressed and fascinated by Obama due to his childhood experience in Indonesia. His remark in Cairo, however, does not impress Indonesian Muslim. When asked about their opinion on the remark, many of them express their doubt on his true intention. Most of them said that they will wait and see to his real actions. So Obama is right when he said that it is not easy to eliminate distrust of both sides. Words alone are not enough.

Despite the existing mutual distrust, Indonesian is in good position as an intermediary between the west and the Muslim world as I wrote in my previous Hub (Obama’s Foreign Policy, Indonesia and Islam).

I believe that the bombing of Marriot Hotel and Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta earlier in July does not affect the good relationship of the two countries. The majority of Indonesian Muslim is peace loving and moderate. Most of us are shocked and very angry to terrorist. Such an attack is murder so it is against Islamic principles. In today’s (July 23, 2009) edition of Tempo newspaper there is an interview with Baashir, an Islamic clergy who led an Islamic school in Solo, Central Java. He is considered to be a hardliner. But in his statement he said that bombing is only justified at war, and Indonesia today is not at war. This is interesting because even a hardliner do not tolerate bombing. Needless to say the moderate majority never tolerate it either.

The bombing reveals that hardliners exist but they are minority in Indonesia. That is why Indonesian and American people and government need to improve cooperation. Comprehensive cooperation is badly needed to overcome the problem. The problem of terrorism also needs a comprehensive solution. The use of coercion alone is not enough since it does not eliminate the root of the problem. It is needed but it is like cutting the leaves of parasitic plant. As long as the root still exists, it will grow again. So besides coercion we need to cooperate to heal the root. I believe the root of evil lies in the social, economic and political condition. Take the case of Bali bombers for example. Three of them – Ali Guffron, Amrozy, and Muchlas came from a poor family who live in a poor village in east Java. Poverty limits their education so they became very narrow minded. People like them are very easy to be indoctrinated and brainwashed.

That’s why we need to support modernist Muslim organization in Indonesia because they can conduct counter indoctrination through their network. There are two big Muslim organization in Indonesia – Nahdlatul Ulama (awakening of Islamic scholar) and Muhammadiyya. They have thousands of schools, hospitals, and mosques. They have modern and moderate mindset and ideology. Many of their leaders graduated from western universities. Besides them, there is hundreds of smaller organization who have similar standing. They have great potential to influence public opinion especially among Muslim community.

Cooperation in economic sector will surely play an important part in eradicating poverty. Education is another sector that needs serious efforts. Cultural cooperation is not less important.

It is very useful to nurture mutual understanding between the two countries. In my opinion it is necessary to translate books written by Indonesian scholars into English and have them published in the United States. Take Quraish Shihab for example. He is a Muslim scholar who has written many good books on Islam. But he writes in Indonesian language. Indonesian novels are also very good. If the translation is available in English, American people will understand about Indonesian culture. Indonesian movies are also very good. They are worth watching.

In short, both sides must improve efforts to create a more fruitful cooperation. That’s why the visit of President Obama to Indonesia is widely expected by many Indonesians. I do hope the visit will realize comprehensive cooperation for mutual benefit.