ISLAMIC TALKS: Speakers (from left to right) Afghanistan parliament member Safia Siddiqi, Ahmad Suaedy of the Wahid Institute and opinion editor of Bangladesh’s The Daily Star Zafar Sobhan showcase a discussion on Islam and democracy at Santika Hotel. (JP/Ricky Y.)
As the world's largest democratic Muslim nation, Indonesia can effectively promote democracy in Afghanistan to counter radicalism in the Islamic country, a discussion heard here Wednesday.
"If countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh come to Afghanistan and convey messages of democracy, I'm sure our people and leaders would listen, as we're under the same voice of Islam," Afghan lawmaker Safia Siddiqi told the forum.
She said lessons on democracy had so far failed in Afghanistan because they were brought by the United States and European countries, whose values differed from those of Afghans.
Safia reiterated her statement when paying a visit to The Jakarta Post's office after the discussion.
"We want a kind of discussion from the people of Indonesia to the Afghan people. We know Afghanistan is so far from Indonesia, but the people are not so far from each other. We can see and talk very easily and solve problems together," she said.
"We need support from our brother countries. We see Indonesia is not totally an Islamic country, a similarity you will find here. In Afghanistan, we have some sort of secularism, either in religion, language, race or sex."
Safia urged the Indonesian government and civil society organizations to send scholars to Afghanistan for a series of discussions on democracy.
She said Indonesia was able to speak with the U.S. for the interests of Afghans.
"You can talk to the U.S. and those they are at war with.
"These militants won't talk with the Americans, but instead carry out suicide bombings to tell things. These attacks have killed more civilians than Americans, risking everybody's lives," she said.
The discussion featured speakers from several South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, talking about the lives of Muslim communities in countries under the democratization process.
The forum, hosted by Indonesia's KBR68H radio, was aimed at sharing knowledge and experiences on the issues of Islam and democratization, with the South Asian region home to some 475 million Muslims -- the greatest number in any given region in the world.
Speakers said Islamism could easily find its way to South Asian countries because of public disappointment over the governments' failures to cope with social problems.
But when it comes to elections, the idea is often used as a political commodity by politicians, they added.
"Islamism has risen primarily due to the failure of secular governments in addressing problems such as poverty, marginalization and corruption.
"At the same time, the society has become more religious as a result of internal and external forces," Bangladeshi journalist Zafar Sobhan of the Daily Star newspaper told the forum.
This situation, he added, opened the door for Islamists to expand their power and sphere of influence by promising changes to the public.
Ahmad Suaedy, executive director of Indonesia's Wahid Institute, shared similar views, saying political elites often benefited from the rise of Islamism to win power.
He said local political influence was one factor for gubernatorial candidates to offer sharia-inspired bylaws to lure more voters.
Both Sobhan and Suaedy agreed there was a decline in the popularity of Islamic politics, with the ideology showing no real strength during elections.
The influence of Islamism "is disproportionate to its actual popularity," Sobhan added.
"Islamist parties in Bangladesh only won five to 10 percent of total votes in past elections," Sobhan said, citing an example.
Suaedy cited similarly cases in South Sulawesi province and Cianjur regency, where gubernatorial and regental candidates failed to win elections despite campaigning for sharia bylaws.
"In fact, voters elected candidates who supported pluralism and tolerance," he said.
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