BALI, Indonesia, 23 October 2003 — The world’s most populous Muslim nation was praised yesterday by US President George W. Bush for supporting the war on terror, but he told Indonesia that extremists had defiled a great religion.
But Bush ran afoul of leading moderate Muslim scholars during talks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where militants linked to Al-Qaeda blew up two nightclubs packed with foreign holidaymakers just over a year ago, killing 202 people.
Reflecting growing mistrust of the United States among ordinary Indonesians, the religious leaders criticized Washington for supporting Israel over the Palestinians and for the occupation of Iraq.
They said Bush needed to listen more to the opinions of the rest of the world.
Bush, speaking against the backdrop of a palm-fringed beach and turquoise sea, expressed his gratitude to Indonesia after meeting President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the religious leaders.
“We know that Islam is fully compatible with liberty and tolerance and progress because we see the proof in your country and in our own,” he told a news conference. “Terrorists who claim Islam as their inspiration defile one of the world’s greatest faiths. Murder has no place in any religious tradition. It must find no home in Indonesia.”
Bush said he wanted to correct what he felt was a misconception that the war on terror was a cover for a war against Islam or that Americans thought all Muslims were terrorists.
He paid the brief visit to Bali under blanket security before flying to the Australian capital Canberra for talks with key ally Prime Minister John Howard as part of a six-nation tour. He paid tribute to the victims of the Bali bombings, the worst global act of terror since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Indonesia took no chances with security, deploying seven warships along with 5,000 heavily armed police and troops backed up by sniffer dogs and bomb squad units.
Bush hoped his visit would help dampen anti-Americanism in Indonesia. Megawati told the news conference she attached “great importance” to Jakarta’s relationship with the United States.
But the religious leaders told Bush that US policies in the Middle East were one of the root causes of terror attacks. “We told him US foreign policy should seek a new paradigm if the US wants to be respected by the world community and be safe,” Syafii Maarif, head of the second-largest Muslim group in Indonesia, Muhammadiyah, told Reuters.
Maarif said he told Bush his policies toward Israel were “extraordinary” and his fear of terrorists “excessive”.
However, he told a news conference later that the meeting was also a positive development. “I think I once said Bush was like Genghis Khan ... but I didn’t tell him that. If I consider what has happened, it was an open and lively meeting which we did not expect,” he said.
Hasyim Muzadi, leader of Indonesia’s largest Muslim group, the 40-million-strong Nahdlatul Ulama, said the meeting was part of a “never-ending struggle”.
“The clash between Islam and America needs to be stopped because this will destroy everything,” he said.
Speaking aboard Air Force One flying to Australia, Bush told reporters the Muslim leaders had told him they believed US policy in the Middle East was biased. “I said our policy is tilted toward peace,” he said. “It was a good exchange. I’m glad I did it.”
In a joint statement issued by the two countries after the meeting they expressed “deep concern” over Israeli-Palestinian violence and “strong support for the vision ... of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state”. Bush said he would propose to Congress a six-year program worth $157 million to support basic education in Indonesia to aid efforts to build a system that discourages extremism.
In Jakarta, some 500 people held a peaceful protest against Bush’s visit. There were small protests in two other cities.
Bush’s praise for Indonesia’s role in the war on terror is in marked contrast to the accusations of foot-dragging prior to the Bali blasts. Washington had warned Megawati for months that her country could face deadly attacks.
The US-Indonesian statement issued after the meeting said Bush also praised Megawati’s “commitment to continue to press forward with difficult economic reforms, combat graft, and improve the investment climate”.
And on a sensitive area of relations, the statement said: “The two presidents agreed that normal military relations are in the interest of both countries and agreed to continue working toward that objective.”