What He Said

Submitted by FES (Indonesia), Aug 14, 2002 at 08:26

Daniel,
I'm an American who has lived in Indonesia for 24 years. As you'll know, Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population. Thankfully for them (and me) the area's earlier, Hindu influences have tempered Islam here.

Still, Islam - by its own design - is meant to have a singular face and common direction. Things your readers previously said are true. Islam sees its goal as control of the world someday. Anything less will be failure for them.

However, what you said is equally true. We must bring, dragging and screaming if necessary, Islam into the world of more democratic institutions. That would be the most enlightened thing we supposedly more enlightened Westerners could do. Wiping Islam off the face of the earth might be easier than working with it, but if we're as smart as we think we are, we'll have to try.

However, that's our long-term objective. One of our short-term goals to realize that long-term objective might be to "get their attention, first". How do we do this? Unfortunately, it might require a form of corporal punishment -- war -- to do it.

That Islam is the "youngest" religion and how you must deal with a hardheaded teenager may have similarities that show us the way to go.

I look forward to reading your articles. Please continue teaching our democratic colleagues everywhere about the road ahead and how we can learn to shoulder the responsibilities if not enjoy them.

Regards,
FES
Jakarta, Indonesia

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