On Sudarsono's article

On Sudarsono's article

Referring to the article The West and Islam in Indonesia
published in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, we have the
following comments.

The author did not mention he was expressing his personal
views. Although the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
clearly stated (in the Jakarta Post on Nov. 8) that "the opinions
expressed in the article are personal in nature," both the Post
and the author are to be blamed for such an error.

Sudarsono, referring to a third party throughout the article,
dealt with the bin Laden phenomenon in a way that serves a false
and misleading perception, invented by certain circles in Israel
and elsewhere. That is to say, governments of Middle Eastern
countries are responsible for extremism and terrorism in the
region so as to divert attention from the real issue, ie. the
brutal Israeli military occupation of Palestine as the main root
cause of violence and extremism in the region and in the Muslim
world.

This is a fact Sudarsono was not able to identify throughout
the article. Apart from the fact that the bin Laden phenomenon
was the product of the Cold War -- an important issue Sudarsono
completely disregarded -- reform in the Arab world has never been
an issue for al-Qaeda.

In this regard, it is regrettable that Sudarsono's article
comes at a time that the Palestinian issue is receiving
unprecedented international support, including from many elements
in the Israeli military establishment.

Sudarsono -- rightly -- attaches great importance to the
"dialogs with the economies and cultures of the West as well as
the great traditions of China, Japan and India." We fully support
such dialogs that go hand in hand with Islam's rich humanitarian
tradition.

The Koran's core message is pluralistic, featuring respect for
the values of other traditions. (As a matter of fact, the
Organization of the Islamic Conference started such dialogs with
other faiths in the early 1990s.) However, Sudarsono made no
mention of the importance of inter-Muslim dialog.

The exchange of visits and experiences between Muslim
academics, ulemas and the elite in Muslim societies can promote
peace, tolerance and other great values of Islam. In this
connection, the outcome of the cultural exchange between
Indonesia and some Arab countries has always been fruitful for
both sides.

We are proud of the leading role that many Indonesian
academics and members of the elite, who received their education
in Arab countries, have played in promoting religious tolerance
and moderation.

EZZAT SAAD
Ambassador of Egypt
to the Republic of Indonesia
Jakarta