Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JAKARTA13329
2006-11-28 23:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Jakarta
Cable title:  

INTER-EMBASSY POLITICAL ISLAM CONTACT GROUP'S

Tags:  PREL PTER KISL ID 
pdf how-to read a cable
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RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 282350Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2248
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHJA/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0142
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0767
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 1298
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 3270
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1164
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013329 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL ID
SUBJECT: INTER-EMBASSY POLITICAL ISLAM CONTACT GROUP'S
INAUGURAL MEETING

Classified By: Political Officer Catherine E. Sweet, Reason 1.4(b)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 013329

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2016
TAGS: PREL PTER KISL ID
SUBJECT: INTER-EMBASSY POLITICAL ISLAM CONTACT GROUP'S
INAUGURAL MEETING

Classified By: Political Officer Catherine E. Sweet, Reason 1.4(b)


1. (C) Summary. On November 9, representatives from the
British, Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, Dutch, Singaporean
and U.S. embassies in Jakarta met to establish a political
Islam contact group; representatives from the Australian and
German embassies will participate in future meetings. Most
countries are focused on education, with the UK having the
most extensive outreach program. New Zealand is working on
interfaith dialogue, which its representative admits has been
useful for exchanging views but not for obtaining tangible
results. The Dutch representative suggested that what is
needed is intra-faith dialogue within the Muslim community,
not interfaith dialogue. Singapore, given its complex
relationship with Indonesia, does not run Muslim outreach
programs here. This contact group will be a useful
complement to our ongoing bilateral cooperation. We were
struck, however, by how little is being done by other
countries to reach out in a systematic way to the largest
Muslim community in the world. End Summary.


2. (U) On November 9, representatives from the British,
Canadian, Japanese, New Zealand, Dutch, Singaporean and U.S.
embassies in Jakarta met to establish a political Islam
contact group; representatives from the Australian and German
embassies were unable to attend, but plan to participate in
future meetings (the group has tentatively agreed to meet
monthly). Organized by the U.K. mission, the working group
includes officers who are primarily responsible for tracking
and engaging Muslim groups. (Note. The Japanese Embassy sent
a researcher affiliated with the embassy who did not have
specific information about Japan's programs. End Note.) As
part of the initial meeting, each representative spoke
briefly about his/her government's Muslim outreach programs.
Poloff provided an overview of the USG's strategy, including
our various exchange opportunities (and notably past
International Visitor programs),USAID's Islam and Civil
Society program, and outreach by multiple Embassy sections to
meet with a wide range of Muslim contacts. She noted that

our efforts focus both on counterterrorism program, designed
to counteract violent Islamist groups, and engagement
programs intended to reach out to more moderate Muslim
organizations.

U.K. Concentrating on Education
--------------


3. (SBU) The British representative said that education is a
key component of their engagement with the Muslim community,
particularly curriculum development. Working through the
mass Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the British
Council, the British are sending Islamic boarding school
(pesantren) leaders to the UK for a month of training in
curriculum development, educational and financial management.
When they return, each trainee is expected to hold training
seminars for ten additional pesantren. The British believe
this program has been very successful in improving pesantren
management, with administrators now monitoring what is being
taught in their classrooms. It has been extended for another
two years, and will double the number of pesantren who have
received training from 500 to 1000. At the university level,
the Foreign Office pays for a linkage program between the
University of Leeds and Indonesian higher education
institutions. The Embassy is also working with the State
Islamic University (UIN) on a gender issues module that will
be included in UIN's interdisciplinary MA program, UK faculty
will teach the module. The British representative commented
that UIN has been a good partner, with excellent networks and
knowledge of where the limits of British involvement should
be.


4. (SBU) Finally, the British are focusing on
multiculturalism and Islam's place in the wider world. For
example, they have produced a "Muslims in Britain" pamphlet
that NU and Muhammadiyah are distributing to their pesantren,
which includes images such as government ministers engaging
with religious groups and a policewoman wearing a headscarf.
(Note. This mimics our "Muslims in America" pamphlet. End
Note.)

N.Z. Focused on Interfaith Dialogue, But Does it Work?
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) The New Zealand DCM reported success in three
areas. First, New Zealand is funding a teacher-training

JAKARTA 00013329 002 OF 003


program run by the International Center for Islam Pluralism
(ICIP),which promotes multiculturalism in conservative West
Javanese pesantren. Second, the GONZ has purchased books
written by Indonesian Islam experts that are designed to
combat jihadism, distributing these to pesantren. Third,
they have established a Muslim youth leaders program that
will target more conservative and radical leaders for future
engagement.


6. (C) The GONZ's focus, however, has been on promoting
interfaith dialogue (IFD),in coordination with Australia,
the Philippines and Indonesia; the next IFD will be held here
in May. The New Zealand DCM admitted that he is struggling
to find tangible deliverables that might come from the
dialogue, saying that IFD has been useful as a "talk shop,"
but not much more. His government is interested in education
and curriculum development, but he said that the Muslim
community feels threatened by the concept of pluralism, which
hinders Wellington's objectives. As a result, they are
trying to find a different way to frame the promotion of
pluralism so that it is less threatening (perhaps by working
through community groups).


7. (C) He asked about whether other governments viewed IFD
as useful. The Dutch representative pointedly commented that
IFD cannot be the solution since the problem is intra-faith
rather than inter-faith: there needs to be a dialogue within
Islam rather than between Islam and other religions, he
contended. To encourage intra-faith dialogue, he said,
foreign embassies will need to use indigenous organizations
like NU and Muhammadiyah. He also pointed out that more must
be done to push the Government of Indonesia to deal with
intra-faith conflicts, noting the GOI's failure to prevent
attacks by Muslims on the Ahmadiyya sect.

Singapore: Political Islam Too Hot to Handle
--------------


8. (C) The Singaporean representative said
Indonesian-Singaporean relations are "difficult" not only
because of proximity, but because of Indonesia's perception
of Singapore as a "Chinese," non-Muslim country that is
allied with the West (even though, he pointed out, 15 percent
of Singaporeans are Muslim). Talking about Islam, he said,
is "very hot and very hard," and the problems that other
countries experience in engaging Islam are magnified ten
times for Singapore. Consequently, Singapore does not run
such programs in Indonesia. However, they do organize
regular visits from the Singaporean Islamic Scholars Council
(Majelis Ulama Islam Singapore) to Indonesia, and send
Indonesians to Singapore for specific programs such as
learning about "halal" food labeling.


9. (C) In Singapore itself, he noted, the government focuses
on forming religious rehabilitation groups to reintegrate
radicals. The program includes outreach by religious leaders
as well as financial and social support to the radicals'
families. He said that approximately ten have already been
re-released back into society (although they are still
monitored). He noted that Australia is exploring ways of
doing something along the same lines, although he did not
comment on whether the Indonesians were also interested.


10. (C) Finally, he spoke about Singapore's regional efforts
to engage Islam by promoting an Asian-Middle East dialogue.
He admitted, however, that the dialogue has foundered because
Middle Eastern countries are suspicious of past attempts to
include Israel. The Government of Singapore is now trying to
assuage the Arabs' fears by promising to include the
Palestinians and exclude Israel.

The Netherlands and Canada: Modest Programs
--------------


11. (SBU) The Dutch representative said his government
focuses a good deal on education, but mainly from a
poverty-reduction perspective. They will shortly be
launching a $100 million program with the ILO on this, which
he said will be their largest bilateral program. On Islamic
education, the Dutch have a scholarship program for
Indonesians to study in Holland, and have a cooperative
arrangement between UIN and Leiden University. The Dutch
likewise run a "Knowledge of Islam" bilateral program
administered by Utrecht and Leiden universities, with speaker
programs on topics like the influence of Islam on Indonesian

JAKARTA 00013329 003 OF 003


decentralization or the role of Islam within political
parties. In general, he said, these are all small-scale
programs.


12. (SBU) Like Holland and the U.K., Canada's approach is
primarily education-focused (they also differentiate between
counterterrorism programs and engaging political Islam). The
Canadian representative said that Canada's McGill University
has a long-standing relationship with Indonesian
universities. Separately, the embassy has partnered with a
small Muslim publication to promote moderation.


13. (C) She noted that the Government of Canada is trying to
determine how best to reach the grassroots, given their
limitations as a Western government. She suggested that
like-minded governments should leverage the human rights and
democracy angle to put a stop to creeping "sharia-ization,"
which disadvantages women and non-Muslims. She views
Indonesia's membership on the UN Security Council and Human
Rights Commission a key opportunity for obliging the GOI to
behave in a democratic way that upholds human rights.

Atmospherics/Comment
--------------


14. (C) It was unfortunate that the Australians could not
attend, because they are more engaged on this issue than many
other Embassies; we look forward to their participation in
future meetings. All the participants seemed grateful to
have this opportunity to learn more about each other's
programs in a multilateral setting and should be a useful
complement to our ongoing bilateral cooperation. What was
most striking, however, was how little is being done by other
countries to reach out in a systematic way to the largest
Muslim community in the world.
PASCOE