|
Islamic
Movement Warns U.S. Over Radicalism In Indonesia
By
Kazi Mahmood, IOL South East Asia Correspondent
JAKARTA,
April 15 (Islam Online) - Syafiie Ma'arif, chairman of Indonesia's
second largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, told the U.S.
government to be more moderate in its war against radicalism and
extremism, the Jakarta Post reported on Monday.
Ma'arif
said Indonesia is facing resurgence in religious radicalism due to
domestic factors, including low education levels, poverty, the absence
of social justice and the weak enforcement of the law.
The
U.S. is believed to have suggested that religious extremism in
Indonesia was the result of the influx of pro-terror suspects from the
Al-Qaeda organization or from other extremist organizations worldwide.
The
FBI and the CIA have recently pointed fingers at Indonesia for not
doing enough to tackle the growing problem of extremism and
anti-Americanism in the largest Muslim nation on earth.
Ma'arif
defended Indonesia saying the problems the country was facing was not
due to these international factors as suggested by the U.S. agencies.
He
suggested that the U.S. government focus attention on those problems
in its struggle to fight terrorism and radicalism, adding that
education was a long-term investment in creating educated and moderate
people.
"The
U.S. government could provide scholarships and other educational
assistance to help educate Indonesians," he said.
The
assistance, in the form of financial and technical aid, could be
delivered to help the country solve sectarian crises in several
regions, prominently Poso in Central Sulawesi and Maluku.
Ma'arif
urged the U.S. government to abandon its military approach in its
fight against radical Muslim movements in Indonesia. The military
approach, he said, was not suitable because it could not help tackle
the core problem of religious radicalism and terrorism.
The
U.S. government needed to identify the sources of radicalism and
employ a strategy to deal with the problem, he said.
He
said the radical Muslim movements in Indonesia had no connection
whatsoever to international terrorist networks, including Al-Qaeda.
"It
is widely perceived by the U.S. public that international terrorist
networks and radical Muslim movements in Indonesia are connected to
each other.
"It
should be continuously explained to them that this perception is
grossly wrong," Syafiie said.
Anti-U.S.
rallies dominated the streets of Jakarta during the time of the U.S.
bombings of Afghanistan. Students and members of hard line Muslim
parties burnt U.S. flags during most of the rallies that were held on
a daily basis.
The
U.S. Embassy has also been the target of anti-Israel protests in
Jakarta lately, following the surge in violence in the occupied
territories.
Indonesians
have decided to protest against Israel in front of the U.S. Embassy, a
country they say is the protector and financier of the Jewish state.
During
his visit to the U.S., Syafiie convinced the U.S. public not to worry
about the rising radical Muslim movements in Indonesia.
The
movement, as represented by Laskar Jihad and the Islam Defenders'
Front, was small and the minority, he said.
If
they looked "big", that was due to their outspokenness and
coverage by the media, he said.
Syafiie
said that the majority of Indonesian Muslims, as represented by the
mainstream Nahdlatul Ulama
(NU)
and
Muhammadiyah, were moderate.
|
