Muslim ads: Irony of message of tolerance

Muslim ads: Irony of message of tolerance

Muhammad Qodari, Political Analyst, Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta

The U.S. embassy recently launched a series of mini films and
print ads presenting the life of Muslim families in the United
States. The series will also be launched in some other Muslim
populated countries. Indonesia was honored to be the first
because it is the biggest Muslim country in the world, says U.S.
ambassador Ralph Boyce.

Of course, it was not stated that Indonesia became the first
country where the series was launched because of the recent
bombing in Bali. Also not mentioned was another possible reason:
Harsh reaction from almost all Muslim organizations, big and
small in terms of their members, due to Indonesia's policy
against terrorism, the arrest of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in
particular, which they widely perceived as done under U.S.
pressure.

A version of the ads in the print media is the life of Abdul
Raouf-Hammuda and his family. Hammuda was born and raised in
Tripoli, Lybia before he went to study in the U.S. He is now a
successful businessman with a bakery named "Tiger Lebanese". It
was stated that 75 percent of his customers are non-Muslims. It
was implied that religious tolerance was the value of his
customers. They do not care what Hammuda's religion is, more
important is his delicious bakery.

The message of religious tolerance is more explicit afterward.
Hammuda says he is one of the founders of the Toledo Islamic
Academy, which started with only 50 students and now already has
pre-elementary as well as high schools. The academy continues to
progress. According to Hammuda, the U.S. is the country of hope
and equality. People like him are free to practice their
religion, and live happily as Muslims.

The series of mini films and print ads I assume aim to bring
the same message: That religious freedom is guaranteed in the
U.S., that Muslim families live their life happily as Islamic
followers. As a piece of the story of the life of a Muslim family
from far and away, Indonesian Muslims would surely be glad to
read and watch such features. They come to know that Islam also
exists in the U.S., often perceived as a big Christian country
hostile to Islam. But what would this kind of message of
tolerance do to Indonesian Muslims?

According to Stanley Harsha of the U.S. Embassy, the embassy
had received quite a number of responses to the ads, from "common
people" such as taxi drivers or petty traders. These people said
that they are glad to know the life of their fellow Muslims in
the U.S. Some of them previously had no idea that there were
Muslims in the land of Uncle Sam. Perhaps there were a few such
ignorant people who were prepared to join plans of "sweeping"
Americans here last year.

But that "sweeping" was condemned and rejected by mainstream
Muslim organizations, such as Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah.
"Sweeping" against Americans was done by those who cannot
differentiate the U.S. people from the U.S. government. American
citizens traveling in Solo and Yogyakarta were sought out because
of what their government did in the past.

I am afraid that even though Indonesian Muslim radicals
already know now that fellow Muslims also live in America, still
they threaten American tourists as long as the U.S. government
policy is considered harmful to Islamic interests -- no matter
how vague this notion of "Islamic interests" is defined.

That the series would bring a better understanding of U.S.
people to the Indonesian Muslim community is obvious. However, I
would suggest that the same series be launched in America.
According to Boyce, there are now seven million Muslims, 1,200
mosques, and 400 Islamic schools in the U.S.

But what about subjective knowledge and the perception of most
people in the U.S. regarding Islam and its followers?

Is it adequate and proportional enough? How much do Americans
realize that Muslims -- people like Hammuda and his family -- are
their "immediate neighbors" instead of "alien and far away"
people?

It is widely known that the knowledge the Western and U.S.
people have about Islam is very minimal. After Sept. 11, there
was growing interest in Islam. Nonetheless, the newly acquired
information about Islam does not guarantee better understanding
of Islam, especially if it is acquired through people such as
televangelist Jerry Falwell (who said, "the Prophet Muhammad was
a terrorist...") or framed through previous stereotyped-mental
set of Islam. Perhaps, this is also the situation after the
recent Bali bomb blast.

Tempo magazine reported a story on Indonesian students in the
U.S. who received "extra attention" from the people in their
neighborhood not long after the U.S. government named Jamaah
Islamiyah as a terrorist group residing in Indonesia. The
students' experience was better than a number of Arabs. They were
cursed and their houses were vandalized after Sept. 11.

A couple of years ago, veteran journalist Peter Arnett in the
American Journalism Review reported a related phenomenon. He
found out that space for foreign news in the U.S. newspapers was
decreasing and in some papers, even terminated. Small and very
local events prevail. Hence, many international news agencies
went bankrupt. Foreign news is the "window" through which
Americans get connected to the outside world. The smaller the
window, the more isolated the Americans become.

So Americans also need to see the series of American Muslim
families, added perhaps with a series of Indonesian Muslim
families. Too many pictures produced by Western and in
particular, U.S. media, depict Muslims as radicals. Mainstream
Islam in Indonesia is against terrorism and compatible with
democracy. This is what Americans really need to know.