Indonesian Muslims must find better ways of expressing ire at U.S.
Indonesian Muslims must find better ways of expressing ire at U.S.
Groups of Indonesian Muslims, enraged by Washington's stance
in the Middle East violence, conducted earlier this week a hunt
for Americans staying in Surakarta, Central Java. Azzam Tamimi, a
researcher at the University of Westminster's Center for the
Study of Democracy, lent his views in the following e-mail
interview. The director of the London-based Institute of Islamic
Political Thought also co-wrote Islam and Secularization in the
Middle East with John L. Esposito.
Question: What is your opinion of the Muslim groups seeking to
flush Americans out?
Answer: Muslims around the world have been outraged by the
policy of shoot to kill that has been adopted by Israeli
occupation troops in the West Bank and Gaza.
Muzzled by domestic politics, these Muslims feel frustrated
since they are disempowered and denied the opportunity to support
the victims of Israeli oppression, those victims whom they regard
as their brothers and sisters in faith.
At the same time, Muslims are rather angry because of the
biased stance adopted by the United States of America who
condones Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
(However) it is regrettable that some of these Muslims resort
to violent action in order to express their anger and
frustration. Attacks on institutions or personnel outside Israel
do not do the cause of the Palestinians any good.
While this is unlikely to change the U.S. position on the
matter, it is highly likely that such actions may result in
causing harm to innocent people. Consequently, a bad name will be
given in the media to Muslims and to the Palestinian cause which
is a just cause. Muslims should look for better ways of
expressing their anger at Israel and its allies in the West.
Q: How can Muslims do that?
A: In my opinion this should include considering boycotting,
whenever and wherever possible, American companies and products
and any interests, economic or commercial or diplomatic or
touristic, for the Zionist entity, that is, for Israel. This is
the least that Muslims can do and it can be done without much
hardship to them.
Imagine what would happen if hundreds of millions of Muslims
refrained from buying or using any products made by American
companies or Israeli interests or other firms proven to support
Israel.
Q: Some Muslim groups have also been angered with President
Abdurrahman Wahid's initial reluctance to take a tough stance
against Israel...
A: President Abdurrahman Wahid has been a great disappointment to
us. We never expected someone who is supposed to be a scholar and
a leader of a large Islamic movement in Indonesia to be such a
close friend of the Zionists.
We ask Allah to bring him back to his senses and to guide him
to the truth. Otherwise, the Indonesian people must have a say in
what their President is doing or not doing.
Q: What can Indonesia contribute to find a solution to the Middle
East violence?
A: Indonesia is the largest Muslim country and has enormous
resources. It is regrettable that in spite of western anti-
Islamic policies toward Indonesia, we see insistence on the part
of Indonesian politicians to stay tied to the tail of America and
its western allies.
Could this be the result of fear for their personal interests
by those who are in power? Most probably yes. We have seen the
Indonesians express support and solidarity with the Palestinians
and demand action. In contrast we have seen a total failure on
the part of the government.
Regrettably, this has also been the case with some major
Arabic countries whose inaction only provides the pretext for
doing nothing by more distant countries such as Indonesia.
I believe Indonesia can be very effective in pressuring
America and the West to be fairer to the Palestinians. Why does
the Christian world care about the Christians of East Timor and
other localities in Indonesia while Muslim governments pay no
attention to what is happening to Muslims around the world and
especially in Palestine?
If only some of these leaders were to telephone Clinton and
say to him "enough is enough, we can not take any more of this
humiliation and disrespect". If they could threaten to boycott
American products and even wield the weapon of oil. If they could
at least sever relations with Israel no matter how low the level
of representation is.
We hope that the time will come soon when governments,
including that of Indonesia, will have no option but to go along
with the wishes of their people rather than impose on them things
they hate.
Q: What is your assessment of the progress, or lack of it, in the
peace talks?
A: Peace talks were destined from the beginning to fail to
achieve anything worthwhile. The fact that the current settlement
is based on legitimizing injustice and oppression means that it
will never work. This is the main reason the Palestinians have
opted for revolution once more in what has become known as the
Al-Aqsa Uprising.
It is true that (Ariel) Sharon's visit to the mosque sparked
the revolution, but it did no more than provide the means of
igniting the barrel of dynamite that has been waiting to explode
in the face of the Israelis and their partners in a peace process
that has led to more humiliation and suffering among the
Palestinians.
Take these figures for just a small sample of what has been
going on since the peace process started in 1993. Since the Oslo
Agreement was signed between the PLO and Israel in September
1993, more than 80,000 new settlers have moved to the occupied
territories, and more than 11,000 new housing units have been
constructed since then on land confiscated from the Palestinians
with whom Israel was allegedly seeking peace and normalization.
During the same period, more than 900 houses belonging to the
Palestinians were demolished. This is in addition to the fact
that more than 3,000 Palestinians continue to be detained in
Israeli jails.
You may add to this the fact that the Palestinian authority,
which is the outcome of the peace process, has added to the
suffering of the Palestinians with a rather poor record of human
rights and a high level of rampant corruption.
More Palestinians have become impoverished after the start of
the peace process and more land has been confiscated by the
Israelis to expand existing Jewish settlements or construct
highways for the exclusive use of Jewish settlers. (Santi W.E.
Soekanto)