Ulemas to question U.S. policy

Ulemas to question U.S. policy

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post,
Bandung/Jakarta

Muslim leaders invited to meet United States President George W.
Bush in Bali next week are planning to question Washington's
foreign policy toward Muslim countries.

"I will convey a letter expressing our concerns over Bush's
action that creates a false perception of Muslims. He has
provoked uneasiness among us," noted preacher Abdullah Gymnastiar
said on Thursday.

He underlined that Washington's invasion of Iraq and support
for Israel's occupation of Palestine had disappointed Muslims
around the world.

"He (Bush) says he is saddened by the deaths of innocent
victims in the Bali tragedy but his actions have sacrificed so
many lives," the preacher said without elaborating.

Aa Gym, as he is popularly known, is among four noted Muslim
leaders invited to meet Bush during his brief stopover in Bali on
Oct. 22.

Nahdlatul Ulama Chairman Hasyim Muzadi, Muhammadiyah Chairman
Syafii Ma'arif and rector of the state-owned University of
Islamic Studies Azyumardi Azra, are also on the invitation list.

Hasyim confirmed on Thursday that he had been notified by the
U.S. Embassy that he would have a chance to speak with President
Bush.

"I am gathering as many views and aspirations as possible from
Muslim preachers on what I should say to Bush and it will be very
interesting," Hasyim told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Hasyim, chairman of the country's largest Muslim organization,
Nahdlatul Ulama, was quoted by Associated Press as saying on
Thursday that he planned to tell Bush that the war in Iraq was
the latest sign that U.S. policy was biased against Muslim
countries in the Middle East. Without a more "balanced approach,"
he said, terrorists would have an easy time finding recruits.

"Bush should listen to this. We don't want to see the birth of
another Osama (bin Laden)," Hasyim said.

Earlier, Syafii said that the four Muslim leaders would likely
question Bush over his foreign policy.

Syafii said earlier that Bush should understand that his
administration's foreign policy was injurious to Muslims around
the world.

"In Indonesia, radicalism is on the rise because many Muslims
see the invasion of Iraq as another example of American's neo-
imperialism," Syafii was quoted by AP as saying.

Meanwhile, security forces are preparing for the planned visit
of President Bush to Bali, with four U.S.-made F-16 warplanes
scheduled to conduct an aerial patrol before and during the four-
hour stopover.

Commander of National Air Defense Rear Air Marshall Wresniwiro
said the four planes would stand by from Oct. 19 as a security
measure.

Four warships and 5,000 policemen will also be on alert from
Sunday Oct. 19 onwards around the resort island.