Islam takes lead in RI's post-9/11 foreign policy

Tony Hotland ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 09/11/2008 10:57 AM  |  Headlines

An Indonesian postgraduate student moved into his new apartment in New York, preparing to present lectures at a university on the perspectives of Islam to an American audience.

Another Indonesian scholar shared stories of fellow scholars in the United States whose funding proposals for Islam-related projects were promptly approved by Washington.

Islam was hardly a key point of discussion, let alone a commodity, during international events in the past -- until the infamous World Trade Center terror attacks in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.

Seven years later, Indonesia -- struggling to raise its global profile in the wake of the disastrous 1997 financial crisis and finding itself a fledging, politically unstable democracy -- has managed to make a noticeable comeback thanks to Islam.

"There have definitely been fundamental changes, adjustments in relations among countries the entire world has had to make following September 11," former foreign minister Ali Alatas said Wednesday in Jakarta.

"We emerged with new attributes, albeit longtime facts, that we are both home to the world's biggest Muslim population and a moderate nation. The Foreign Ministry has been trying to make the most of it."

The feats are pretty prolific.

Indonesia swiftly adopted a tough anti-terrorism stance. The 2002 Bali bombings paved the way for more cooperation with the West, particularly the U.S., and positioned Indonesia as a victim and partner in the war on terror.

"We stood up immediately to make it clear not all Muslims are extremists, and it's important to empower the moderates," senior diplomat Makarim Wibisono, former ambassador to the UN both in New York and in Geneva, told The Jakarta Post.

"We participated in anti-terrorism forums. We chaired the APEC Counter Terrorism Task Force. We played crucial roles in interfaith dialogues. We wanted to create a proper image of Islam," he said.

In 2002, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda was quoted as saying that Indonesia needed to blend international and domestic factors in managing diplomacy -- concocting policies reflecting both outward- and inward-looking mind-sets.

Thus Indonesia stepped up and reached out to be involved in trying to resolve numerous conflicts, including the Palestine-Israel conflict and the Iran and North Korea nuclear spats.

In 2007, Wirayuda called for the UN Security Council, the world's most powerful body, to include a representative from the Muslim world as a permanent member, saying Indonesia would be up to the task.

The past few years have seen high-profile visits to Indonesia, from U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"(These efforts) have at some points advanced our global standing. Coupled with tough sentences for terrorists and measures to subdue extremism, they have helped create trust in Indonesia, despite our being a Muslim country," Makarim said.

However, Parahyangan Catholic University international relations analyst Anak Agung Banyu Perwita told the Post that diplomacy built on Indonesia's brand of Islam would have little sustainable impact.

"(Putting Islam on the front line) might be the buzz now but only within the context of security issues. I don't see any long-term effects or relations between being a moderate Muslim country these days and successful diplomacy," Banyu said.

"It's applicable in radical issues, but it's useless in, for instance, environmental or human rights issues... In the end, diplomacy relies more on one's domestic capacity."

Azyumardi Azra, a professor at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University, concurred it remained to be seen if the element of Islam in Jakarta's foreign policy would eventually benefit the nation.

"But since we're working to once again raise our international profile after the downfall of Soeharto, the use of Islam for the time being seems to favor that objective," he said.

Copyright © 2008 The Jakarta Post - PT Bina Media Tenggara. All Rights Reserved.