Respect for Islam

Respect for Islam

By all accounts, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's
denunciation of the injustice against Muslims in the world is the
strongest criticism of the West from the Indonesian president to
date. Without pointing a finger at any country in particular, the
president, in her opening address on Monday at the International
Conference of Islamic Scholars in Jakarta, nevertheless left
little doubt about the countries she had in mind.

"Whether intentionally or not," the President said, "gross
injustice is evident in the attitude and actions of (several) big
countries against countries whose societies adhere to Islam."

This injustice, she said, was evident in the unilateral
actions taken by a number of countries against Iraq. On a smaller
scale, the same injustice was being done by outlawing head
scarves in "a certain" European country.

"Whether or not they are aware of it, such discriminatory
measures test the sincerity of those big countries in observing
human rights, which they have strived to accomplish since the
20th century," she said.

Of course, compared to the vituperative comments from the
former Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, Megawati's
criticism of the double-standard "certain countries" apply to the
Muslim world is mild indeed.

Speaking at the opening of an Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) meeting in October in Putra Jaya, Malaysia, for
example, Mahathir said -- among other things -- that "the Jews
control the world" and used others to wage war on their behalf.
"Europeans killed six out of 12 million Jews, but now the Jews
control the world by proxy. Others are fighting and dying for
them," he said.

Furthermore, said Mahathir, "it is impossible that there is no
other way (than violence). Muslims, who number 1.3 billion
people, cannot be defeated by Jews, who number only a few million
people."

In response to the fierce reactions that arose in the West to
his "anti-Semitic remarks", Mahathir said his remarks were taken
out of context and refused to retract them. His speech, he said,
was merely meant to awaken Muslims to their plight and to spur
them on to work harder in order to overcome it. On another
occasion, the articulate and outspoken prime minister said the
Muslim world should be strong enough to instill fear in the
hearts of "the enemy" -- the only way to earn respect.

Whatever the differences between Megawati and Mahathir,
Megawati's response to the West's hostile reaction to Mahathir
deserve noting.

Megawati called upon the OIC to improve its communication with
those outside its own sphere to generate a better understanding
of Islam in the non-Muslim world. "At present," said Megawati at
the time, "it seems that Islam is seen as identical to terrorism.
In actuality ... the heart of Islamic teachings is imbued with
tolerance, compassion and moderation."

It seems fair to conclude, then, that the differences that
exist between the two leaders' aims for Islam are not as
substantial as they may appear at first. In fact, they may be
nonexistent, as both seek global respect for Islam and its
followers.

Whereas Megawati mainly placed stress on achieving global
understanding for the moderate, peace-loving and inclusive nature
of Islam, however, the more pragmatic, more outspoken Mahathir
seems to believe that Muslims should not overlook building
strength through progress in order to improve the lot of the
ummah, or Muslim community, and at the same time, gain fair
treatment and respect from the non-Muslim world.

It goes without saying that realizing prosperity, fairness and
justice in an admittedly unfair world is much easier said than
done. In the end, it is the methods by which the Muslim world try
and achieve their aims that will determine the non-Muslim world's
perception of Islam.