Stop equating Islam with the Arab world

Pribadi Sutiono, London

Leading international scholars and senior government and public figures are gathering in Bali this week to discuss mutual understanding and mutual respect among all faiths and religions in Asia and Europe.

Under the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) initiative sponsored by Indonesia and the United Kingdom, the dialog will also actualize interfaith harmony within the international community.

In the wake of the July 7 London bombings such a dialog is both important and timely. People are starting to question how to understand other faith, particularly Islam. Regrettably, they tend to fall into the trap of equating Islam exclusively with the Middle East and Arab-Muslim affairs, and Muslim militancy.

In conferences and meetings on Islam, predictably dominated by the pressing issues of Palestine, Iraq, and Islamic militancy, the audience heard very little about the position and attitudes of Muslims in Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh or Nigeria. This lack of exposure is a common problem facing non-Arab Muslim countries today.

No one doubts or underestimates the importance of Islam in the Arab World. The Middle East is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, the place of pilgrimage to Mecca, a region in which the great historical thinkers, writers and scientists of the Muslim world were able to flourish. The region is revered and is a source of inspiration for Muslims across the world.

For Western governments and security agencies, still reeling from the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks, Arab Islam has become a primary focus of attention and analysis for unfortunate but understandable reasons. This in turn has led to the Western media devoting more coverage to events in the Middle East and a proliferation of academic books about Islam and the Arab World.

The 2002 Bali bombings provided an unfortunate wake-up call. The attacks, propelled the U.S.-led "war on terror" beyond the boundaries of the Middle East, reminding governments, journalists and academics that Muslims in the non-Arab world -- notably Indonesia -- were also facing problems of religious militancy. The world was reminded that Indonesians and other "peripheral" Muslim countries were actively engaging in valuable discussions about the position, interpretation and future of Islam.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world with 85 percent of its 250-million-strong population following Islam. The Bali attacks left a temporary stain on Indonesia's moderate and pluralistic reputation, but two years on, the success of the country's democratic elections added renewed credibility to the assertion by Newsweek, that Indonesia represents "Islam with a smiling face."

The first ever democratic presidential and legislative elections in 2004 were lauded in the West as an example of how a Muslim-majority country can be capable of embracing principles of modernity and democracy. The highly complex nationwide polls, which resulted in the election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, saw a high turn-out of voters who were able to cast their ballots in safe, secure and sanguine environments.

With the eyes of the international community now focused firmly on post-election Iraq and democratic reforms in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, could the success of the 2004 Indonesian elections set an example to other majority Muslim societies and silence those who claim Islam is not compatible with democracy? Could the dynamic and liberal nature of the average Indonesian Muslim help quash the western stereotypes of bearded Taliban guerrillas and gun-toting Saudi militants?

The challenge of promoting Indonesian Islam to the wider Muslim community has long been a difficult one. Indonesia's geographical location, often cited as being on the periphery of the Muslim world, has led to Indonesia becoming arguably less significant on the global Islamic platform.

It's true that Indonesian Islam is quite unique and different from that of Middle Eastern societies and is therefore often regarded as being "deviant" or "impure" by many Arabs. The fact that most Indonesians don't speak Arabic, the original language of the Koran, does not, as Muslim Arabs often claim, mean that they are somehow lesser Muslims or the followers of an impure version of Islam.

Islam came to Indonesia in the 15th century and was absorbed into cultures already influenced by animist, Hindu, or Buddhist beliefs and traditions. As Islam took root across the country, it failed to completely overwrite pre-existing beliefs and the liberal Indonesian traditions of intellectual debate, pluralism and tolerance. Islam in Indonesia today is still characterized by this fusion but this does not mean, as some Middle Eastern clerics assert, that the Indonesian belief in Allah, and commitment to the principles of Islam are some how diluted or negated due to the presence of more ancient traditions and belief systems.

There should be no supremacy or monopoly of the truth in Islam. All Muslims should recognize and respect the various ways in which their fellow believers choose to demonstrate their belief in God and commitment to the fundamental Islamic principles. No one has the right to be disdainful or gauge the levels of piety amongst Muslims. Indonesian or Kuwaiti, Bangladeshi or Egyptian, Muslims need to respect each other's way of worshiping and be prepared to humbly exchange and accept new ideas from across the entire Islamic world.

Debates and conferences dedicated to Islamic issues should listen to the voices and contributions of Muslims from across the global spectrum in order to prove that being an Arab is not synonymous with being a Muslim and that Islam is not synonymous with the Arab World.

For this reason, once the ASEM Interfaith Dialog starts to discuss Islam and its role for the international community, therefore, it should also focus on all kinds of Islam in the world, regardless of whether they are in the center or on the periphery of the Muslim world. This basic principle should be accepted both by the Arabs as well as by Western society. Failing to accept this conception means that studying or debating Islam will only return to the same old debates concerning Palestine, Iraq, Israel and religious militancy.

For moderate Muslim countries like Indonesia -- and to some extent Malaysia or Bangladesh -- this is a good opportunity to share experiences on Islam and its compatibility with modern values with other Muslims countries as well as non-Muslims.

The writer is a graduate of the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand who works at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in London. The opinions expressed in the article are his own. He can be reached at p.sutiono@deplu.go.id.