Indonesians rally against war on Iraq

By Kazi Mahmood, IOL Southeast Asia Correspondent 

JAKARTA, March 27 (IslamOnline.net) - A small but dignified Islamic party in Jakarta has called on Muslims to rally support for “jihad”, which it says means self defense of a Muslim territory under attack by invading forces as is the case in Iraq with the U.S.-led aggression against the Muslim nation in the Middle East.

The Islamic Justice Party (PK), a Muslim group, that has rallied half a million people on a Sunday in February last month to warn the United States not to attack Iraq, has opened booths around the country to register those who want to volunteer for war in the Middle East Nation.

Calls for jihad has grown in the country and there will be more movements to send “Muslim legionnaires ” to Iraq if the war drags on and the U.S. gets bogged in the ‘quagmire’ promised by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Financial Rather than Physical Jihad

However, The Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) asked the country's Muslims on Wednesday to unleash a "financial, rather than a physical, jihad” for Iraq.

"Jihad is not always manifested through physical action, but can also be expressed through financial contribution," its chairman, Umar Shihab, said after meeting with foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda and leaders of different religious communities, as well as university, party and community figures.

Umar Shihab said, as quoted by Antara, that rather than waging a jihad, it would be better if Indonesian Muslims helped by contributing funds.

Observers in the capital city of Indonesia say a rise in “Islamic militancy and extremism” in the country will depend on how the Megawati Sukarnoputri regime, assisted by Islamic leaders outside her government, handles the Iraq war.

“Islamic leaders are urging the Indonesian government to take stronger steps than mere words to condemn the U.S. in its aggression of Iraq.

“This puts Megawati Sukarnoputri in a terrible situation since her regime depends largely on the U.S. and international Financial organizations to funnel the local economy towards growth,” said Isa Selamat, a Muslim intellectual who hails from the Province of Bengkalis in Riau Islands.

“We should not forget that Indonesia needs cash from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and a too strong attack against the U.S. war in Iraq will dampen the U.S. in its support for Indonesia’s economy,” the owner of a Manpower business in Jakarta said.

‘Cornered’

Cornered between allegiance towards the U.S. and the need to satisfy the angry hearts of the Muslims in the streets, Megawati is juggling with the sword of Damocles on her head, “this could bring chaos in Indonesia and the U.S. would surely withdraw its assistance to her regime,” Eddy Mustafa, who sends workers to Malaysia and Singapore, said.

He says a longer war in Iraq will turn the Indonesian streets into a boiling pot and it will be difficult for moderate Islamic movements to prevent young Indonesians from ransacking foreign interests in the vast country.

Though Indonesians does not support Saddam Hussein in person, his defiance and the tough battles as well as the guerilla strategy employed by the Iraqi military to knock the U.S.-led coalition in ambushes has stirred confidence among the Muslims in the region.

Bush Is Gengis Khan Of The New Century

U.S. President George Bush is Gengis Khan of the new century, Indonesia’s Shaafi Maarif, leader of the Muhamadiyah movement, the second largest Islamic based organization in the country said to BBC.

Bush could be more paranoid than Saddam Hussein himself, he added.

He added that he was in total control of the members of the Muhamadiyah who were rational and not emotionally driven, in a bid to prove that there will be no fanatical outbursts in the largest Muslim nation on earth.

Jakarta, a huge metropolitan city is divided in five major sectors and is vastly populated by Javanese Muslims who form part of the Malay community in the South East Asian region in countries like Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the Philippines.

It’s an old city, seemingly aging with 400 hundred years of history behind it and little sign of modernization since the Megawati era. Poverty is rampant among the 11 million citizens and this is said to be one of the reasons that Islamic militancy is alive and well in Indonesia.

Isa Selamat disagrees though, that poverty is the motor that drives Islamic extremism or militancy in Muslim nations.

“The actions of the non-Muslim regimes the like of the U.S. and Britain are the driving factors that will fuel extremism around the world,” he said.

Indonesians has always lived a moderate life in terms of economic prosperity and application of Islamic principles in their midst’s. There is this strong sense of brotherhood with fellow Muslims world wide that could fuel anti-Western sentiments in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia.

“Indonesian Muslims were always ready to fight for their faith and for their people in the past, this has not changed now and what is happening in Iraq, whether the U.S. wins in this war or not, will not change that sentiment,” he added.

“The lies of the U.S. and British governments regarding the Weapons of Mass Destruction supposedly to be found in great quantity in Iraq is another reason. The modern times does not pity those who lie and it is clear so far that Bush and Blair may have lied about Iraq’s chemical weaponry,” a student told IslamOnline.

The student, Amran Nasution was quick to add that it was not impossible for the enemies of Saddam Hussein bring chemical weapons in Iraq only to declare that “voila we found it a factory or under hospital beds in Iraq,”

His comments show the total disbelief in the U.S. administration and the harm done by the Iraq war on the minds of Muslims around the world will be undeniably seen in the years to come, said Isa Selamat. 

Students were arrested in Jakarta on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 for harassing and organizing sweepings against foreigners in the capital city. Two of them were arrested by police in civilian clothing for attempting to open the doors of a taxi and to extract two foreigners out.

In Jalan Jacksa, a popular road where motels and hotels doors are still open for foreigners, the police say it expects sweeping operations to be carried out by extremists in the coming days. It has also warned Muslims not to attack assets belonging to foreign countries, particularly those that are supporting the war in Iraq.