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OO RUEHBC RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHDT RUEHGI RUEHHM RUEHJS
RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHPW RUEHROV
DE RUEHJA #1527/01 2250511
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120511Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9770
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUCNISL/ISLAMIC COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5289
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2889
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 1191
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 1160
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2095
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3908
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2351
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 2938
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 2874
RUEHPT/AMCONSUL PERTH 1031
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHHJJPI/USPACOM HONOLULU HI
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RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001527 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/AWH, DRL/IRF, 
EAP/PD 
NSC FOR E. PHU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF KISL ID
SUBJECT: VISIT BY NOTED U.S. SCHOLAR PLACES ACCENT ON 
OUTREACH TO INDONESIAN MUSLIMS 
 
REF: JAKARTA 1070 AND PREVIOUS 
 
JAKARTA 00001527  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY.  Key Indonesian Muslim leaders joined noted 
U.S. scholar on Islam John Esposito for the August 10 launch 
of the translated version of his 2008 book, "Who Speaks for 
Islam?"   The discussion focused on how Indonesian 
Muslims--the largest community of Muslims in the world with 
roughly 200 million adherents--can make their largely 
moderate views better heard on the international stage.  The 
leaders also expressed strong interest in increasing 
understanding with the U.S.  Esposito is widely known in 
Indonesia and his visit underscored the importance of 
continued outreach to the Indonesian Muslim community.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
VISIT BY NOTED EXPERT 
 
¶2.  (U) A noted U.S. scholar on Islam recently visited 
Jakarta.  John Esposito, Professor of Religion and Islamic 
studies at Georgetown University, spoke at the August 10 
launch of the Indonesian-language version of his book, "Who 
Speaks for Islam:  What a Billion Muslims Really Think" by an 
Indonesian publisher.  The Bahasa Indonesia title translates 
into English as, "It's Time for Muslims to Speak Out." 
Esposito's visit was privately financed and not USG-linked. 
(Note:  Esposito was among the earliest American Islamic 
studies scholars to come to Indonesia when he first visited 
in 1975 as a USG-sponsored speaker.) 
 
¶3.  (U) The audience of over 100 at the event included many 
prominent Muslim scholars and leaders.  The Master of 
Ceremonies was Abdillah Toha, a well-known member of the 
national legislature.  (Note:  Toha recently visited the U.S. 
on a USG-funded visit.)  In addition to Esposito, the panel 
included:  Din Syamsuddin, chair of Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's 
second largest Muslim organization with about 35 million 
members; Anies Baswedan, Rector of Paramadina University, a 
moderate Muslim school; and, respected scholar Dr. Mochtar 
Pabottingi of the Indonesian Institute for Social Sciences. 
DepPol/C and Library of Congress representative also attended 
the event. 
 
A CONSTRUCTIVE DISCUSSION 
 
¶4.  (U) During his talk, Esposito summarized the findings of 
recent Gallup research--done over six years and involving 
more than 50,000 interviews.  His main point was that the 
survey revealed that 93 percent of Muslims are moderate, 
based mostly on their view that the September 11 attack was 
not justifiable.  U.S. foreign policy needs to focus on the 7 
percent of radicals, he said.  This group is mostly better 
educated and has stronger belief in democracy than mainstream 
Muslims in general, but are highly cynical toward the West 
and about whether democracy can be realized.   Esposito said 
the study revealed that the world's Muslims do not hate 
Americans, but do not like our foreign policy, and are able 
to distinguish between the two. 
 
¶5.  (U) The panelists and audience praised the Gallup study 
for offering an honest and empathetic take on Muslim views, 
and for the fact that it included Indonesia.  The overall 
discussion was constructive, emphasizing how the U.S. and the 
Muslim world can avoid a "clash of civilizations" and find 
common understanding.  In response to some comments, Esposito 
offered a frank rebuff to negative stereotypes of the U.S., 
saying it is patently wrong to say the U.S. is less spiritual 
than Muslim nations, for example. 
 
MUSLIM LEADER:  FOCUS ON COMMON GOALS 
 
¶6.  (U) In his remarks, Muhammadiyah head Din Syamsuddin 
 
JAKARTA 00001527  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
politely criticized U.S. foreign policy but then added that 
in his recent meeting with U/S Glassman in Washington, 
Syamsuddin had emphasized that the Muslim world should be 
seen as a partner rather than a threat.  Syamsuddin said, 
"Let's fight common enemies--poverty and economic injustice." 
 Paramadina University Rector Baswedan said he was studying 
for his doctorate at Northern Illinois University when 
September 11 occurred, and he was surprised by the relatively 
few retaliatory acts of violence against Muslims in the U.S. 
(Note:  Baswedan also got his masters at University of 
Maryland under a Fulbright Scholarship.) 
 
¶7.  (U) The discussion also focused on how Indonesian 
Muslims--the largest community of Muslims in the world with 
roughly 200 million adherents--can make their largely 
moderate views better heard on the international stage. 
Asked for his major criticisms of the Muslim world, Esposito 
commented that oftentimes the educational sophistication of 
college-educated Muslims is not matched by increased 
understanding of religious values, and thus they can be 
easily influenced in a negative way.  Muslims also, he 
claimed, overemphasize their own sense of being victimized 
and lack of power.  He cited what he calls the "Muslim couch 
potato" who takes no action to right misperceptions.  He 
posed the rhetorical questions of how many Muslims have 
studied in the West and tried to understand the culture, or 
how many Muslim universities have American studies programs. 
Very few, Esposito asserted. 
 
OUTREACH KEY 
 
¶8.  (U) Esposito's visit--which was not 
USG-linked--underscored the importance of people-to-people 
outreach.  He is well known here, and many Indonesians lined 
up to ask him about ways to establish academic and religious 
exchanges with the U.S.  As he was among the first wave of 
U.S. scholars of Islam to visit Indonesia under United States 
Information Agency speaker programs and one who visited often 
in the 1970s and 1980s, Esposito understands the value of 
long-term people-to-people exchanges.  He commented that 
outreach and public diplomacy are the most important types of 
diplomacy that the U.S. can carry out in the Muslim world and 
the goodwill his brief visit engendered bore this out. 
HUME