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American Indonesian

Chamber of Commerce

�for business and understanding�

 

To: All Members and Friends

From: Wayne Forrest, Executive Director

 

Abdurrahman Wahid and John Esposito: A Clash of Misunderstandings: Addressing the Root Causes of Islamic Extremism, moderated by Wimar Witoelar

 

On May 7, AICC was able to organize a discussion between two leading experts on Islam: Abdurrahman Wahid and John Esposito.� Our colleagues at Asia Society graciously enabled Gus Dur to join a book launch that had been previously arranged for Prof. Esposito for the only day Wahid could travel to NY. It turned out that Esposito�s new book devotes significant ink to a profile of Gus Dur.� Their cooperation avoided an audience split.�� The result was a dynamic discussion of Islam, globalization, terrorism, and US policy options.� Wimar Witolar, a business consultant and former press spokesman for Gus Dur acted as moderator. Following the discussion Wahid and Esposito signed copies of their recent published books.*� What follows are excerpts, not a transcript.

 

John Esposito led off by asking the audience to keep in mind that extremism exists in all religions.� Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and Moslems have all committed terrorist acts in the name of religion.

 

Its important to ask who is bin Laden, what turned him around, and how did his experiences shape him.�� Not to condone what he did or explain it but to provide a context for trying to prevent the creation of more bin Laden�s.

 

According to Esposito, bin Laden grew up with the notion of a good jihad, or just war but perverted the concept based on his experiences.� Fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan was a �good fight�.�� America and Moslems from around the world supported the struggle.� Bin Laden, and others that fought in the war and were empowered by the war a, came home heroes to societies in which they ultimately felt powerless and even repressed.� The double standard stung and they turned cynical. When Iraq invaded Kuwait, bin laden and many other veterans from the Afghan struggle were deeply offended by the US military presence in Saudi Arabia.� They believed it would be permanent, enabling a corrupt Saudi regime to remain and become �unjust�.� In Islam, jihad is a struggle to maintain one�s faith in the face of temptations to depart from behavioral standards.� It can also mean a fight against aggressors seeking to destroy the religion. An extremist view of jihad is that �anyone you don�t agree with is unjust�.� In this type of jihad, resistance and terror are indistinguishable. Bin Laden eventually crossed the line and saw any attack on America or its interests as part of a just war to save Islam.�� This concept of a struggle against the US as being a struggle to save Islam has been spread and by new Muslim media: internet, cable, etc.

 

While Moslem television is showing its viewers more of the world than most Americans see-- through new media such as Al Jazeera, the Arab CNN clone-- US media has cut back its coverage of the world.� The imbalance impacts American attitudes about events as coverage lacks depth and sophistication.

 

Moslem reformist leaders such as Wahid are not enough.� Their progressive ideas must penetrate the bottom rungs of their faith where hate theology is bred in narrowly based schools.�

The problem of terrorism is not just the Moslem religion alone.� All religions have their dark side, their mass fear wing.�� We must take this into account in creating a foreign policy about terrorism.

 

Gus Dur�s Presentation

 

What Samuel Huntington said about the potential clash between Moslem and Western civilization is not accurate.� He makes a theoretical mistake.� Hundreds of thousands of Moslems have studied in the West; Islam is not against the West.�� Also, there is a double standard illustrated as follows: If radical Muslims commit a terrorist act or demonstrate, its interpreted as anti-West.� However, if orthodox Jews stone people who choose to work on the Sabbath, its not condemned in the same way.� Islam is not the only source of terrorism and we should be consistent when it comes to attacking terrorism and not use double standards.�

 

Even within Islam individuals make mistakes in trying to create their own Islamic identity.� At the University of Indonesia, pro-Western faculty can adopt jilbab(head covering) as a means of symbolizing their newfound identity.� However, jilbab is really a symbol to differentiate a slave from a free person.� Gus Dur believes much of this misplaced energy will pass.� He believes that if we cling to principals of freedom and the uniform treatment of people of all religions, �we�ll be all right�.

 

The textual side of Islam, what the Prophet said, is also a problem.� Anachronistic passages, relevant at the time (7-11 centuries) have to be reinterpreted.� What the Prophet said has to be interpreted within the context of human development.�� In the Prophet�s time only males could be leaders because their principal purpose was to physically defend a tribe. Decisions were very personal.� Now we have nation states as organizing principles with governments that must function impersonally.� Benazir Bhutto could lead a Muslim country.� So is the Koran wrong ? No, it must be reinterpreted.

 

Azymardi Azra- Rector of Indonesian Islamic Institute

 

A few reactions:

American policy double standards contribute to negative attitudes about America.� These are not necessarily anti-American.�� The US needs to reassess its foreign policy.� The unsolved economic crisis in many countries due to globalization leads to unemployment and making it easy for anti-American groups to hire demonstrators and make their movement appear bigger than it actually is.� The lack of quality public education increases the difficulty in bringing more positive views of globalization and democracy to the population at large.�� The US makes a mistake in making linkages between bin Laden and certain Indonesians (Bashir) or groups that is �beyond the imagination�.� Bin Laden and Al Qaeda�s influence is exaggerated and local Indonesian groups are inflating their claims of a connection.� It may lead the US down a path that will create more instability and extremism, not less. The US should not be goaded into a self fulfilling prophecy.

 

Wahid�s Rejoinder to Azra

 

What Lew Kuan Yew said about Indonesia harboring terrorists and that in 30 years it will become a Muslim state is all right as a viewpoint in a seminar.� But as a leader saying this, he should shut up, its meddling in internal affairs.� Bush is trying to make a balanced policy between Israel and the Palestinians.�� But his axis of evil is a dangerously simplistic concept and could lead the US to ignore the creating of civil societies that will do more to prevent terrorism than any unilateral US military action.

 

Esposito�s Rejoinder to Azra

 

Tom Friedman finds representatives of mainstream Muslims with warped attitudes about who was behind 9/11 but he only travels to a country briefly and how good is his sample.

When Rabin was assassinated high ranking Israeli officials refused to believe a Jew could have done it.

 

From the floor,

Cliff Charney, a pollster, answers that even though Friedman�s writes from anecdotal experience, there is polling data to support his points.�

�

Gus Dur�s Reply to Question: What would he have done differently?

 

I would have been more careful, not trusted my friends or generals (although there are some good ones).

Islamic militant groups in Indonesia are minuscule and the next general election, 2004, will weed them out.��� They have been used by those in power since 1989 when Suharto started ICMI.� Although ICMI (Intellectual Moslems Association) was not extremist, it spawned others that were and Suharto could use them clandestinely to maintain power.

 

Gus Dur�s suggestions for President Bush: don�t continue to prop up autocratic leaders, push for democracy and freedom.

 

Esposito�s suggestions: Bush should travel the world more and he should replace his defense advisors.

 

 

* Book Signing

Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam, by John Esposito, Georgetown University

Gus Dur- The Authorized Biography of Abdurrahman Wahid, by Greg Barton, Deakin University

No Regrets: Reflections of a Presidential Spokesman by Wimar Witoelar