Alwi briefs US on RI Muslims

Alwi briefs US on RI Muslims

JAKARTA: Former minister of foreign affairs Alwi Shihab has
recently visited the United States to brief a couple of key
officials on the state of radical Islam in Indonesia.

During his American visit, Alwi, who is also a Muslim scholar,
met with deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz, who once served
as the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, and an aide to President
George W. Bush, Steve Hadley.

"They expressed their deep concern of the situation in
Indonesia, where religious sentiment can easily trigger an anti-
America drive. I told them that the anger of Muslim people here
was a result of the recent offensive by Israel on Palestine,"
Alwi said after meeting with Coordinating Minister for Political
and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday.

Alwi, who now chairs the National Awakening Party co-founded
by former president Abdurrahman Wahid, joined Nahdlatul Ulama
chairman Hasyim Muzadi and Muhammadiyah chairman Syafiie Maarif
as Indonesian Muslim figures invited to the U.S. in the wake of
last year's Muslim terrorist attacks.

Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim country.

Sjafiie is still in the U.S. and is scheduled to return home
on Friday. -- JP