RI Moslems face critical period: Observer

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Moslems are currently in a position to build a strong Islamic society, as they are enjoying improved relations with the power holders, a foreign observer says.

M.H. Faruqi, chief editor of the London-based journal Impact International and an observer of Indonesian affairs, said Moslems here are currently enjoying a number of advantages, including an increasingly significant role in society.

"This situation should be responded to well," Faruqi said on Wednesday.

Moslems should strive to prevent potential disturbances, he said. Experience has shown that when Moslems engage in hostile relations with the power holders, a third party takes advantage of the situation by siding with the power holders.

Conditions have improved greatly, he said, but Moslems should remain vigilant about possible conflicts.

He warned that, with the 1997 general elections approaching, Indonesia is headed toward a critical time. The world, he added, will continue to scrutinize Indonesia.

"Changes have to be managed in as orderly and transparent a manner as possible," he said.

Faruqi praised Indonesia as a peaceful, tolerant country which enables various social groups to thrive in their diversity.

He reminded Indonesian Moslems to also think about their brethren in other parts of the globe, including Bosnia- Herzegovina.

He also called on Indonesian Moslems to recognize that there is now a larger, more significant, psychological war being waged against Islam throughout the world.

Faruqi is here at the invitation of Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher to attend the ongoing Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Arts and Culture.

He was speaking to the press about Moslems' development in Europe. He was accompanied by Moslem leader Lukman Harun and festival organizer Pontjo Sutowo.

Faruqi said Moslems, including those in Indonesia, should try to understand and learn from the unique situation of their brothers and sisters in Western Europe. There are currently about 15 million Moslems spread across the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.

He placed Moslems in Europe into three categories: those who are new converts to Islam; native Moslems, such as the people of Bosnia Herzegovina; and Moslem immigrants.

Many Moslems, especially the immigrants, are in disadvantaged positions, he said. However, the situation was understandable, added, given the fact that most of them hailed from countries which had been colonized at one time or another.

"What's unique about them is that, while most Moslems see hijra (migration) as leaving a non-Islamic community to one which is, European Moslems moved from Islamic communities to those which are not," he said.

He said many Moslems migrated from Islamic countries, such as Algiers, Tunisia or Morocco, to non-Islamic France. Indonesian Moslems, too, once moved in large numbers to Netherlands, while Angolan and Mozambique Moslems migrated to Portugal.

In addition, many Turkish Moslems left their country to live in Germany, while Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Moslems have migrated to England. "Those people from the once-colonized countries migrated to countries which once colonized them," he said.

Faruqi described the various difficulties that Moslems encounter in European countries. He added, however, that the enmity against Islam which many of them experience comes only from a handful of people with power.

A greater number of people can accept Moslems, he said. (swe)