Muslim leaders call for calm over int'l rhetoric on terror

Tiarma Siboro and Yogita Tahilramani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mainstream Islamic leaders have called on the country's Muslims not to be became angered over U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's statements on the presence of suspected al-Qaeda cells in the country, saying that all such allegations had yet to be backed up by concrete evidence.

Hasyim Muzadi, chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Indonesia's largest Muslim organization, said on Sunday that Interpol, and the intelligence forces of the United States and Indonesia, needed to build a "strong working relationship" in order to gather solid evidence on the presence of al-Qaeda cells in Indonesia.

"The job of the leaders of Muslim organizations in Indonesia is to ensure that their organizations' followers are not easily provoked or involve themselves in violence," Hasyim told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

The secretary general of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), Dien Syamsuddin, said on Sunday that the U.S. could not accuse Indonesia of harboring international terrorists or single it out as a haven for terrorist groups based on subjective perceptions.

"Unless the US has strong evidence to show that Indonesia is indeed harboring international terrorists, the US must not point the finger at Indonesia," Dien told the Post.

Wolfowitz had earlier said that the presence of suspected al- Qaeda cells in Indonesia had led to a situation that created "much more of a law enforcement challenge." He also said that he did not rule out the possibility of joint military training for counterterrorist operations involving Indonesian and U.S. forces.

Muslim leaders here fear that Wolfowitz's statements could provoke a major backlash against U.S. interests in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, as many world Muslim leaders warn that the harsh measures taken by the U.S. military in Afghanistan could shift to a war against Islam.

Hasyim asserted on Sunday that military intervention by the U.S. or "baseless" arrests of Muslim leaders in Indonesia without adequate evidence would not be tolerated by the Muslim community here.

"Any accusations or charges made by the U.S. regarding the presence of terrorist groups in Indonesia must be proved first before any action is taken," he said.

"Indonesia won't tolerate foreign intervention. That would unnecessarily force moderate Muslims in Indonesia to take radical measures."

Muhammadiyah Chairman Sjafii Ma'arief warned the U.S. on Saturday to be prudent when dealing with Indonesia, and cautioned the government against sacrificing the nation's sovereignty in response to the worldwide antiterrorism drive, as certain other countries had done in Sjafii's opinion.

He also said that the U.S. had failed to prove that its persistent attacks on Taliban fighters and al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan were effective in eliminating the terrorist network led by Saudi Arabian businessman Osama bin Laden.

Indonesia has come under the spotlight in the war against terrorism after a number of its citizens were arrested overseas for alleged links to al-Qaeda.

Neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, have piled the pressure on Indonesia, accusing it of not doing enough in the global antiterrorism drive by leaving terrorists at liberty to pursue their ends.

Sjafii said that "none of these citizens have links to international terrorist groups".

The image of Islam has worsened following the accusations by the U.S. and other governments that Indonesian hard-liners, like Hambali and Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) Chief Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, have facilitated the international terrorists who attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11 last year.

"I also firmly believe that such hard-line groups here do not have any connection with al-Qaeda," Sjafii said, referring to the MMI and Laskar Jihad, led by Jafar Umar Thalib.

"These groups exist due to the government's uncertain policies on the economy, politics, security and justice. If the government manages to deal with these problems and maintain stability, I believe that these groups will no longer be relevant," Sjafii said.

In its efforts to promote an understanding of the role of Islam in the development of a peaceful world, Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim organization in Indonesia after the NU, will hold a debate on 'Islam and the West' at its headquarters on Tuesday.