Indonesia
should put itself forward as the prime example of a society successfully
practicing a moderate form of Islam. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority
nation — with most of its Muslim citizens claiming to embrace a peaceful and
moderate brand of Islam — Indonesia should be an example of how Islamic
teaching, democracy and modernism can work hand in hand to create a working and
prosperous nation where all religions and beliefs can live peacefully together.
Instead,
Indonesia is still haunted by series of major bomb attacks in the early 2000s,
despite the acknowledged success of Indonesian authorities to bring to justice
hundreds of terror perpetrators.
The recent
emergence of Islamic State has now made Indonesia the focus of attention
because of this history, or because its citizens are joining the war in the
Middle East against the backdrop of the ever-present terror threat inside the
country. Indonesia seems to have been branded an unsafe place with the spread
of IS sympathy to this region of the world.
Warnings
issued by the US and Australian governments highlight the country’s status
despite President Joko Widodo’s rejections.
The core of
the problems is that in the last decade Indonesian authorities have failed to
deal with the root cause of Islamic radicalism.
Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono, for election reasons, courted Islamist groups and allowed
their vigilantism and violence to continue unchecked, shaping the notion that
even among moderate Muslims such actions were completely acceptable.
The
barbaric Paris attack on Wednesday will put more pressure on Indonesian
Muslims. Indonesian diplomacy must be able to maintain our image of a peaceful
nation. We, the moderates, must now actively speak up and fight against any
intolerance and violent teachings.
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