Yahoo – AFP,
Andrew Beatty, April 20, 2017
US Vice
President Mike Pence on Thursday toured the biggest mosque in Muslim-majority
Indonesia during a visit seen as a highly symbolic gesture from an
administration that has been accused of stoking Islamophobia.
After
kicking off his stop in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country by
praising its moderate Islam as "an inspiration", he visited Istiqlal
Mosque, whose vast white dome towers over downtown Jakarta.
He slipped
off his shoes before being guided around the mosque, which is also the biggest
in Southeast Asia, accompanied by his wife and two daughters in headscarves, as
well as Istiqlal's grand imam.
His visit
represents the most high-profile outreach to Muslims by the Donald Trump
administration since the brash billionaire came to office and echoes a similar
trip by Barack and Michelle Obama in 2010.
Since
becoming president almost 100 days ago, Trump has hosted leaders from
majority-Muslim Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
But his
administration has also tried to ban travellers from several Muslim-majority
nations, citing concerns about terrorism -- an effort currently being
challenged in US courts.
As a
presidential candidate, Trump often appeared to flirt with the far right as he
railed against "radical Islamic terrorism".
But Pence
struck a starkly different tone during his visit to Indonesia, which has often
been praised as a successful Muslim democracy where most practise a moderate
form of Islam and coexist peacefully with substantial religious minorities.
"Indonesia's
tradition of moderate Islam is frankly an inspiration to the world and we
commend you and your people," he said after talks with President Joko
Widodo at the presidential palace in Jakarta.
"In
your nation as in mine, religion unifies, it doesn’t divide."
Tolerant Islam under threat
US Vice
President Mike Pence and his family were taken on a tour of Istiqlal,
Indonesia's biggest mosque, in Jakarta (AFP Photo/Adek BERRY)
|
Tolerant Islam under threat
Pence is
currently on a tour of South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Australia that is
aimed at smoothing some of the rougher edges of Trump's rhetoric.
In South
Korea and Japan, Pence played down protectionist declarations of "America
first" and reaffirmed US treaty commitments to the security of the two
countries as tensions rise over Pyongyang's nuclear programme.
After
meeting with representatives of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's at
the regional bloc's headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday, Pence announced Trump
would attend three summits in Asia in November, a further sign that his
administration is seeking to reassure regional allies.
He will
attend the US-ASEAN and East Asia summits in the Philippines and a gathering of
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group in Vietnam.
At the
mosque in Jakarta, Pence and his family also toured the cavernous main prayer
room -- which was empty during his visit but fills up with tens of thousands of
worshippers during key dates in the Muslim calender -- and admired the towering
dome.
A man
showed the US leader how he beats a carved drum next to the courtyard, a local
addition to the traditional call to prayer.
Pence then
held an interfaith dialogue behind closed doors with representatives of the
Christian, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu and Muslim faiths.
The vice
president's upbeat tone about Indonesian Islam contrasts with growing concerns
inside the country that the traditionally inclusive brand of the religion is
under threat from hardliners and a trend towards conservatism.
On
Wednesday Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama was defeated in a
run-off election to lead the capital by a Muslim challenger who was accused of
pandering to hardliners to win votes.
Purnama,
known by his nickname Ahok, lost after his once-unassailable lead in opinion
polls was dented when he was put on trial for blasphemy in a case criticised as
politically motivated.
After his
talks with Widodo, Pence also said the US was committed to building a stronger
defence partnership with Indonesia to combat terrorism, and guaranteeing
freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where Indonesian and Chinese
vessels have recently clashed.
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