U.S. releases documentaries on Muslims' lives in America

U.S. releases documentaries on Muslims' lives in America

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid rising public suspicion toward the U.S.-led war on
terrorism, the U.S. government released here on Tuesday a series
of mini documentaries on the lives of Muslims in America, which
critics said was merely "propaganda" in favor of the superpower.

A 10-minute movie titled Common Ground: Muslim Life in America
is meant to show to the Muslim world that the U.S. allows Islam
to spread and develop in the country.

"These represent an effort to reach out and bridge some gaps
in communication," U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia Ralph L. Boyce
said in a news conference after Tuesday's showing.

He said Indonesia was given the first opportunity to watch the
documentaries due in part to its status as the world's most
populous Muslim country.

The documentaries feature the lives of four Muslims in
America, who claim they receive equal treatment and respect in
practicing their religion in the U.S.

However, the film was immediately criticized during its
showing, with audience members saying that it came across more as
propaganda as the U.S. was overpraised throughout the film.

Scholar Riza Mallarangeng, who attended the showing,
underlined that the documentaries should provide a complete
picture, which also covered the downside of living as Muslims in
the U.S.

The chief editor of Suara Pembaruan evening daily, Bondan
Winarno, said of the campaign: "This is too hard a sell, too
short and too unrealistic".

Lily Zakiah Munir, a figure from the country's largest Muslim
organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) who visited the U.S. recently,
said last week that American Muslims were not more moderate than
their Indonesian counterparts.

"If you visit Muslim community members in America, you will
find their children being taught Arabic symbolism, such as sword
and jihad (holy war) slogans, which gives the impression of
violence," she told The Jakarta Post.

Lily said the religious knowledge of American Muslims had
largely been influenced by Arab scholars, who she said were
generally not critical of Islam and understood it literally.

"That's why we should not wonder why many American Muslims
appear to be more fundamental than Indonesian Muslims in
general," she said.

Boyce said in his opening speech that strengthening ties with
Muslims had taken special importance after the Sept. 11 attack
last year against New York and Washington, which provoked the war
against terrorism.

The U.S. has been accused of aiming the war against Muslims as
most of their targets in the campaign are Muslim-based
organizations or countries.

The ambassador also said that the campaign would be aired
throughout the Muslim fasting month, with several Muslim
countries also airing the same campaign.

When criticized that the campaign might be viewed as
propaganda, he said: "It's a free country. People can draw their
own conclusions".

He also brushed aside a suggestion that the campaign was
related to the Bali bombing incident on Oct. 12 as some suspected
that the U.S. was behind the tragic incident in a bid to gain
more support against terrorism.

"I categorically reject that the U.S. was behind the Bali
bombing," Boyce said.

"I am appalled to hear this story continue to circulate among
people whom I believe have more important and profound challenges
to face here in Indonesia," he added.