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PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3136/01 3110950
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 070950Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1934
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0071
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0052
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1117
RUEHTRO/USLO TRIPOLI 0022
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAWJB/DOJ WASHDC
RHHJJAA/JICPAC HONOLULU HI
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCXNMC/NATMARINTCEN WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013136 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
Dept for EAP/MTS and S/CT 
DOJ for CTS Thornton, AAG SWARTZ 
FBI for ETTIU/SSA Roth 
NSC for Holly Morrow 
 
From American Consulate Medan # 30, 2006 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KISL KJUS ASEC KPAO
AS, ID 
 
SUBJECT: ABB Preaches in North Sumatra 
 
Ref: Jakarta 010576 
 
JAKARTA 00013136  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Radical Muslim Cleric Abu Bakar 
Ba'asyir spoke in North Sumatra October 29 - 31 
at a series of engagements on the implementation 
of Syariah law. Misleading posters advertising 
the visit masked Ba'asyir's identity and implied 
sponsorship of mainstream Muslim organizations. 
Though he encouraged his listeners to push for 
the implementation of Syariah law at the local 
level, he was consistently guarded in his public 
comments. Officials from Muhammadiyah and several 
prominent mainstream Muslim scholars privately 
regretted the visit and, at a seminar organized 
as part of the visit but which Ba'asyir 
ultimately did not attend, two speakers including 
a senior official from the Prosperous Justice 
Party and a well known Muslim scholar, spoke 
against the implementation of Syariah. End 
Summary. 
 
Deceptive Advertising 
===================== 
¶2. (SBU) Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was in North Sumatra 
October 29 - 31 to speak and conduct seminars on 
"Awakening the Strength of the Community of 
Believers under the Umbrella of Syariah." 
Posters advertising the event appeared 
deliberately misleading and designed to appeal to 
a mainstream Muslim audience. Ba'asyir, for 
example, was identified only as "Ustadz Abu" on 
the ads and a humble-looking picture of the 
cleric was the only indication of his real 
identity.  In addition, the poster implied that 
the visit was sponsored in part by the Prosperous 
Justice Party (PKS) and said that tickets could 
be purchased at the PKS office.  PKS officials 
for North Sumatra adamantly deny both these 
points.  The poster also indicated that the 
Malaysian Consul General might speak at the 
event.  In reality, the Malaysian Consul General 
was unaware of the visit and, once alerted by the 
U.S. Consulate, demanded the sponsors take down 
all advertisements referencing his office.  The 
full poster can be viewed on OSIS (unclassified) 
at 
http://transition.intelink.gov/state/sumatra/ 2006 
/10/look_whos_coming_to_medan.html. 
 
Schedule 
======== 
¶3. (SBU) During his visit October 29 - 31, 
Ba'asyir preached at three mosques, one each in 
Belawan, Medan, and Deli Serdang.  He also 
lunched with the head of Front Pembela Islam 
(FPI) in Belawan and met with a local businessman 
known to sponsor several pesantran in Langkat. 
According to reliable sources, turnout at the 
events was much lower than expected, and the 
audiences were overwhelmingly female.  Despite 
his prominent billing on the advertisements for 
the visit, Ba'asyir did not attend the seminar on 
"Contemporary Dakwah and Syariah" on October 31 
but took a very early flight to Yogyakarta 
instead. 
 
Message: Implement Syariah 
 
JAKARTA 00013136  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
========================== 
¶4. (U) Ba'asyir presented similar messages at 
each of the three mosques and largely refrained 
from using inflammatory language.  In each case 
he told his audience that the state has the 
responsibility of promoting and guarding Islamic 
principles and that Syariah Islam should be 
immediately added to the national constitution. 
Unless the constitution is amended to fully 
incorporate Syariah Islam, Islamic principles 
will continue to erode under the influence of an 
increasingly secular government. 
 
¶5. (U) While implementing Syariah has many 
advantages, Ba'asyir told his audiences, the real 
benefit is that it guarantees the country will be 
peaceful and safe and that crimes such as 
corruption and robbery will disappear.  Non- 
Muslims have no reason to fear Syariah, he said, 
because Islam forbids its followers from 
interfering with non-Muslims or forcing them to 
convert.  Living proof that diverse religions can 
live harmoniously under a Syariah government, he 
said, are all the non-Muslims who fully enjoy 
their rights and feel completely safe while 
living in Islamic countries throughout the world. 
 
¶6. (U) Addressing what he described as the 
accusations of Islam's enemies, Ba'asyir said 
that the struggle for Islam must be won through 
"dakwah," not the sword; the force of arms may 
only be used to protect and defend Islam from its 
enemies.  In apparent reference to his conviction 
and imprisonment on charges relating to 
terrorism, he warned Muslims to not allow 
themselves to be persuaded by "rumors spread by 
the Americans." 
 
Reaction 
======== 
¶7. (SBU) In private, mainstream Muslim officials 
and scholars were united in their distaste for 
Ba'asyir and displeased that he would come to 
North Sumatra to preach. Several of these figures 
told us that they regretted Ba'asyir's decision 
to come to North Sumatra and described Ba'asyir's 
brand of Islam as more in tune with Java than 
Sumatra.  During the seminar -- which Ba'asyir 
ultimately did not attend -- speakers publicly 
dismissed the idea that Syariah should be 
implemented by the government. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Muhammadiyah: Top officials from 
Muhammadiyah, one of North Sumatra's largest and 
most influential Muslim groups, were caught by 
surprise at the visit and told us bluntly that by 
ignoring the importance of tolerance in Islam, 
Ba'asyir and his supporters risked "ruining" the 
name of Islam among non-Muslims and diverted 
attention away from issues which were more 
important to Indonesia's Muslim community.  They 
also worried that the visit could upset the 
peaceful coexistence among North Sumatra's 
various religious groups. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Last July, Muhammadiyah leadership in 
West Sumatra blocked Ba'asyir from speaking at 
 
JAKARTA 00013136  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
several key mosques in Padang (Reftel).  At the 
time, Muhammadiyah leaders in North Sumatra 
privately told the Consulate that they agreed 
with that course of action.  When confronted with 
a similar situation here, however, they were 
unwilling to do more than "discuss the matter" 
with committees overseeing Mosques where Ba'asyir 
was scheduled to preach and to monitor all of 
Ba'asyir's public events.  More aggressive 
actions were unnecessary, they said, because 
Muslims in North Sumatra are well trained enough 
to "know correct doctrine when they hear it." 
 
¶10. (SBU) Muslim Scholars: Several influential 
Muslim scholars affiliated with the state Islamic 
University privately condemned the visit and said 
that many students at the university opposed the 
visit as well.  Some student groups, said one 
scholar, wanted to organize a demonstration 
against Ba'asyir and all that was needed was a 
"tiny breath of air" from him or one of his 
colleagues to set off the demonstration.  He did 
not wish to do so, however, because of the 
potential that it might set off a round of 
demonstrations and counter demonstrations, all 
the while giving Ba'asyir and his supporters the 
attention they crave.  A better strategy, said 
the scholars, would be to distribute pamphlets on 
the meaning of Jihad and application of Syariah 
and to bring back Imam Bashar Arafat for a 
conference on Islam, Dakwah, and Syariah.  (Note: 
Arafat is an Imam from the United States who came 
to North Sumatra as part of a program supported 
by the Public Affairs Section.)  Had Ba'asyir 
attended the workshop, one well known Muslim 
scholar was prepared to confront him directly. 
The scholar spoke against formal implementation 
of Syariah. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Prosperous Justice Party: One 
provincial PKS leader spoke at the seminar on 
Syariah.  In his presentation he emphasized that 
PKS does not support the establishment of an 
Islamic state.  Distancing himself from Ba'asyir, 
the official emphasized that ABB did not attend 
the seminar and that no PKS official saw or met 
with Ba'asyir in any capacity.  Other Senior PKS 
officials confirmed that the party played no role 
in organizing or sponsoring the event.  Pascoe