Iraq invasion has marred U.S. image among Muslims: Analysts<\/p>\n
Simon Martin, Agence France-Presse, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq almost one year ago tarnished
\nAmerica's reputation among Southeast Asian Muslims and eroded
\nsupport for its war on terror, analysts and Islamic leaders say.<\/p>\n
Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri, who heads the
\nworld's largest Muslim-populated nation, was among the first
\nforeign leaders to express condolences to the United States after
\nthe Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.<\/p>\n
But just last month she bitterly criticized the war in Iraq as
\n\"exceptional injustice\" against a Muslim country.<\/p>\n
\"The general view here is that the U.S. and its allies have
\nlied because the existence of weapons of mass destruction cannot
\nbe proven, therefore the invasion is unjustified,\" Din
\nSyamsuddin, deputy chairman of Indonesia's second largest Islamic
\ngroup Muhammadiyah, told AFP.<\/p>\n
\"America is viewed as arrogant and imperialistic, trying to
\nimpose its values on other countries.\"<\/p>\n
An international opinion survey published last June by the
\nU.S.-based Pew Research Center concluded that the Iraq war had
\nfurther inflamed Muslims worldwide and softened support for the
\nwar on terror.<\/p>\n
It found that favorable ratings for the U.S. had fallen from
\n61 to 15 percent among Indonesians within a year.<\/p>\n
Sidney Jones, of the International Crisis Group of political
\nanalysts, said Iraq was a major factor in the change of mood. But
\nthe detention of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay and tighter
\nU.S. visa regulations for Muslim visitors had also soured
\nattitudes.<\/p>\n
\"The cumulative effect is that in Indonesia and many other
\nMuslim countries the U.S. is seen as having interpreted the war
\non terror as a license to take harsh steps against Muslims,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The war on terror is still seen as a war on Muslims. Many
\nMuslims see the U.S. as engaged in a systematic campaign against
\nthem.\"<\/p>\n
Jones said the \"cumulative effect of Bush administration
\npolicies including Iraq is that the US has lost a lot of
\ninfluence and its image as a champion of democracy and human
\nrights has been tarnished.\"<\/p>\n
That loss of influence was clearly demonstrated when Indonesia
\nlast May launched a major military campaign to crush Aceh
\nseparatist rebels despite U.S. objections.<\/p>\n
\"Honestly, what we are doing or will do in Aceh is much less
\nthan the American power that was deployed in Iraq. We aren't
\nviolating anyone's sovereignty,\" said Minister of Foreign Affairs
\nHassan Wirayuda at the time.<\/p>\n
Last December Hassan said scathingly that the struggle against
\nterrorism \"calls for wise policies, not smart bombs\". Civilian
\ncasualties created martyrs and fueled support for extremists, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Azyumardi Azra, rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah State
\nIslamic University (UIN), said the decision to go to war without
\nUnited Nations backing was partly to blame.<\/p>\n
\"Most Indonesians including the Islamists believed Saddam
\nHussein was a ruthless dictator,\" he said. \"But unilateral
\nefforts by the U.S. were quite unacceptable for Indonesians at
\nlarge.\"<\/p>\n
Azyumardi said the invasion created much resentment among
\nMuslims and there was also some resentment over its tougher
\nimmigration policy<\/p>\n
\"Many Muslims see the war on terror as a war against Muslims,
\nespecially the Islamists.\"<\/p>\n
He said anti-U.S. sentiment was now abating slightly in
\nIndonesia. \"If the US is able to expedite the process of forming
\na new government in Iraq, the situation will be better.\"<\/p>\n
Neighboring Muslim-majority Malaysia also bitterly attacked
\nthe Iraq war.<\/p>\n
Then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who had been feted by
\nthe U.S. for his support in the campaign against terrorism,
\ndescribed the invasion as a cowardly and imperial act \"by those
\nwho still want to rule the world.\"<\/p>\n
He predicted it would encourage more angry Muslims to join
\nmilitant groups.<\/p>\n
Abdul Razak Baginda, executive director of the Malaysian
\nStrategic Research Center, said Malaysia felt its opposition to
\nthe war had been vindicated by the failure to find any weapons of
\nmass destruction.<\/p>\n
But it was not only the war which had tarnished the U.S.
\nimage.<\/p>\n
\"Don't look at the war in isolation. There are other factors,
\nsuch as the treatment of Muslims entering the U.S. and
\ndiscriminatory policies against Muslims.\"<\/p>",
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