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.