VZCZCXRO7707
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #3198 3180249
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140249Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2054
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHJA/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 013198 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OEXC SCUL KPAO KISL PREL ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN MPS PRAISE INTL VISITOR PROGRAM, CITE 
TROUBLING WAHHABI INFLUENCE AMONG AMERICAN MUSLIMS 
 
 
This cable is sensitive but unclassified; please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary.  Poloffs recently debriefed four members 
of the Indonesian House of Representatives who participated 
in the International Visitor Leadership Program, &The U.S. 
Political System,8 from August 7 ) 25, 2006. In their 
visits to cities and towns throughout the United States, the 
participants met with a diverse group of Americans and 
American organizations. The participants stressed that this 
trip showed them that the real strength of the US is not its 
government or military, but its people.  It is troubling to 
note, however, that one of the participants, a member of the 
conservative Muslim Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), felt that 
many American Muslims seemed ashamed of and embarrassed about 
their country. He also posited that there seemed to be too 
much of a Wahhabi influence on the American Muslim community, 
noting that he was concerned by the level of intolerance and 
inflexibility he encountered at a mosque in Seattle.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) From August 7) 25, 2006, five members of the 
Indonesian House of Representatives participated in the 
International Visitor Leadership Program, &The U.S. 
Political System.8  While in the United States, the 
participants visited Washington, DC; Rochester, New York; 
Grand Island, Nebraska; Oklahoma City; and Seattle. During 
their visit they met with various government agencies, 
nongovernmental organizations, politicians, and other 
individuals. 
 
¶3.  (U) The visitors agreed that the most interesting parts 
of their visit were those that occurred outside of 
Washington, DC, particularly their trips to rural areas and 
small towns.  In fact, they singled out Nebraska several 
times as the highlight of their visit. They commented that 
the home hospitality component was wonderful. In Nebraska, 
the group was especially touched when their hosts held a 
celebration for Indonesian Independence Day. As a result of 
these experiences, they feel they have gotten a real sense of 
the U.S. from ordinary Americans, which they believe is 
different from the U.S. that is projected by our foreign 
policy.  The real strength of the U.S. is not its government 
or military, they said, but its people. 
 
¶4.  (U) They commented that because they believe it is 
important for younger Indonesian MPs to understand the United 
States and how it works, they hoped that in the future more 
MPs could be sent on the IVLP.  They also purchased and 
brought home bags of U.S. history books and compact discs 
that they plan to share.  They found a number of 
commonalities between the U.S. and Indonesia that they hoped 
others would see, notably a history of multiculturalism.  One 
participant is even planning to introduce a curriculum on 
political participation that he found in the United States 
into his Islamic boarding school. 
 
¶5.  (U) Although they were not scheduled to visit New York 
City, the visitors pushed hard to get the partner 
organization, Delphi International, to permit them to do so 
that they could visit Ground Zero.  While there, the men ) 
who are all Islamists ) visited the site to pray. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In commenting on his interactions with American 
Muslims, one of the Islamist participants commented that 
American Muslims seemed embarrassed about being Americans, 
which troubled him.  He didn,t think that they had any 
reason to be ashamed, and wanted to tell them that &this is 
your country and these are your people.8  He also remarked 
that there seemed to be too much Saudi influence on the 
American Muslim community, which was particularly noticeable 
in the Seattle mosque he visited. According to him, the 
teaching at this mosque was ¬ flexible.8  In his view, 
American Muslims could benefit from more interaction with 
Indonesian Muslims, who are generally more moderate than 
Saudis.  The participants suggested that there be a sort of 
reverse IVLP program that would bring Indonesian Muslims on 
visits with the American Muslim community, and send American 
Muslims to Indonesia to interact with their counterparts here. 
PASCOE