Muslim ads: Irony of message of tolerance<\/p>\n
Muhammad Qodari, Political Analyst, Centre for Strategic and
\nInternational Studies (CSIS), Jakarta<\/p>\n
The U.S. embassy recently launched a series of mini films and
\nprint ads presenting the life of Muslim families in the United
\nStates. The series will also be launched in some other Muslim
\npopulated countries. Indonesia was honored to be the first
\nbecause it is the biggest Muslim country in the world, says U.S.
\nambassador Ralph Boyce.<\/p>\n
Of course, it was not stated that Indonesia became the first
\ncountry where the series was launched because of the recent
\nbombing in Bali. Also not mentioned was another possible reason:
\nHarsh reaction from almost all Muslim organizations, big and
\nsmall in terms of their members, due to Indonesia's policy
\nagainst terrorism, the arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in
\nparticular, which they widely perceived as done under U.S.
\npressure.<\/p>\n
A version of the ads in the print media is the life of Abdul
\nRaouf-Hammuda and his family. Hammuda was born and raised in
\nTripoli, Lybia before he went to study in the U.S. He is now a
\nsuccessful businessman with a bakery named \"Tiger Lebanese\". It
\nwas stated that 75 percent of his customers are non-Muslims. It
\nwas implied that religious tolerance was the value of his
\ncustomers. They do not care what Hammuda's religion is, more
\nimportant is his delicious bakery.<\/p>\n
The message of religious tolerance is more explicit afterward.
\nHammuda says he is one of the founders of the Toledo Islamic
\nAcademy, which started with only 50 students and now already has
\npre-elementary as well as high schools. The academy continues to
\nprogress. According to Hammuda, the U.S. is the country of hope
\nand equality. People like him are free to practice their
\nreligion, and live happily as Muslims.<\/p>\n
The series of mini films and print ads I assume aim to bring
\nthe same message: That religious freedom is guaranteed in the
\nU.S., that Muslim families live their life happily as Islamic
\nfollowers. As a piece of the story of the life of a Muslim family
\nfrom far and away, Indonesian Muslims would surely be glad to
\nread and watch such features. They come to know that Islam also
\nexists in the U.S., often perceived as a big Christian country
\nhostile to Islam. But what would this kind of message of
\ntolerance do to Indonesian Muslims?<\/p>\n
According to Stanley Harsha of the U.S. Embassy, the embassy
\nhad received quite a number of responses to the ads, from \"common
\npeople\" such as taxi drivers or petty traders. These people said
\nthat they are glad to know the life of their fellow Muslims in
\nthe U.S. Some of them previously had no idea that there were
\nMuslims in the land of Uncle Sam. Perhaps there were a few such
\nignorant people who were prepared to join plans of \"sweeping\"
\nAmericans here last year.<\/p>\n
But that \"sweeping\" was condemned and rejected by mainstream
\nMuslim organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.
\n\"Sweeping\" against Americans was done by those who cannot
\ndifferentiate the U.S. people from the U.S. government. American
\ncitizens traveling in Solo and Yogyakarta were sought out because
\nof what their government did in the past.<\/p>\n
I am afraid that even though Indonesian Muslim radicals
\nalready know now that fellow Muslims also live in America, still
\nthey threaten American tourists as long as the U.S. government
\npolicy is considered harmful to Islamic interests -- no matter
\nhow vague this notion of \"Islamic interests\" is defined.<\/p>\n
That the series would bring a better understanding of U.S.
\npeople to the Indonesian Muslim community is obvious. However, I
\nwould suggest that the same series be launched in America.
\nAccording to Boyce, there are now seven million Muslims, 1,200
\nmosques, and 400 Islamic schools in the U.S.<\/p>\n
But what about subjective knowledge and the perception of most
\npeople in the U.S. regarding Islam and its followers?<\/p>\n
Is it adequate and proportional enough? How much do Americans
\nrealize that Muslims -- people like Hammuda and his family -- are
\ntheir \"immediate neighbors\" instead of \"alien and far away\"
\npeople?<\/p>\n
It is widely known that the knowledge the Western and U.S.
\npeople have about Islam is very minimal. After Sept. 11, there
\nwas growing interest in Islam. Nonetheless, the newly acquired
\ninformation about Islam does not guarantee better understanding
\nof Islam, especially if it is acquired through people such as
\ntelevangelist Jerry Falwell (who said, \"the Prophet Muhammad was
\na terrorist...\") or framed through previous stereotyped-mental
\nset of Islam. Perhaps, this is also the situation after the
\nrecent Bali bomb blast.<\/p>\n
Tempo magazine reported a story on Indonesian students in the
\nU.S. who received \"extra attention\" from the people in their
\nneighborhood not long after the U.S. government named Jamaah
\nIslamiyah as a terrorist group residing in Indonesia. The
\nstudents' experience was better than a number of Arabs. They were
\ncursed and their houses were vandalized after Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
A couple of years ago, veteran journalist Peter Arnett in the
\nAmerican Journalism Review reported a related phenomenon. He
\nfound out that space for foreign news in the U.S. newspapers was
\ndecreasing and in some papers, even terminated. Small and very
\nlocal events prevail. Hence, many international news agencies
\nwent bankrupt. Foreign news is the \"window\" through which
\nAmericans get connected to the outside world. The smaller the
\nwindow, the more isolated the Americans become.<\/p>\n
So Americans also need to see the series of American Muslim
\nfamilies, added perhaps with a series of Indonesian Muslim
\nfamilies. Too many pictures produced by Western and in
\nparticular, U.S. media, depict Muslims as radicals. Mainstream
\nIslam in Indonesia is against terrorism and compatible with
\ndemocracy. This is what Americans really need to know.<\/p>",
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