Word: muslims
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...chant anti-American slogans. But their numbers, so far, have been limited. What reigns in Indonesia, instead, is waning optimism for Obama's efforts to re-engage with the global Islamic community, something he has managed to do with some success in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Last year, a local Muslim organization called Muhammadiyah urged its 29 million members to study Obama's Cairo speech when he called for a new beginning with followers of Islam. But since that historic address, Muhammadiyah's chairman Din Syamsuddin has felt his hopes deflate. "Obama indicated in his speech that there would be mutual...
...Indonesia Matters Indonesia deserves just that. Obama's trip is crucial for introducing Americans to a country that may not evoke much beyond earthquakes and tsunamis but is nevertheless key to U.S. interests. A 17,000-island archipelago, Indonesia boasts the world's biggest Muslim population. It is also the world's third largest democracy (after India and the U.S.), proving that Islam need not be the enemy of political freedom. Back when Obama lived in Jakarta, where his American mother was an anthropologist and aid worker, Indonesia was ruled by a dictator and mired in poverty. Today...
...There's no question that orthodox dogma is gaining sway in Indonesia, like elsewhere in the Muslim world. In Jakarta, for instance, the number of women wearing headscarves has increased dramatically compared to a decade ago. As local governments have gained more autonomy, some have implemented a variety of Islamic-based legislation - ranging from enforced Koran literacy for Muslim children to the as-yet-unenforced stoning to death for adultery - despite the fact that Indonesia is officially a secular nation. At Menteng Elementary School where Obama once studied, the principal and many teachers wear veils. The Muslim prayer room...
...lessons of the school resonate in other ways. Annisa Luthpia, a 10-year-old pupil, giggles in confusion when asked what religion Obama is. She doesn't know - and doesn't care. Says the Muslim girl of the Christian American President: "He seems like a very nice man." Obama's challenge is to persuade Asians that he is more than just that...
...Palestinian Islamist parties, in turn, have been raising the temperature by calling on young men to turn out in force to "protect" the Muslim sites, claiming that the Israelis are trying to take control of the iconic al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock. Such gatherings have often turned into riots, with mobs throwing stones at nearby Israelis and tourists. The city's police, invariably, have been caught in the middle, trying to prevent flare-ups and casualties that could spark new rounds of violence. To do so, the police block access to prayers at the Muslim holy sites...