LUMINARIES STRUGGLE TO SUGGEST WAY FORWARD AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 008063

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/27/2016
TAGS: PGOV KISL ID
SUBJECT: LUMINARIES STRUGGLE TO SUGGEST WAY FORWARD AT
INDONESIAN ISLAMIC CONFERENCE

REF: 04 JAKARTA 01778 (INTRAMURAL CLASH OF
CIVILIZATIONS)

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Classified By: Political Officer Joshua R. Rushman for reason 1.4 (b) a
nd (d).


1. (C) Summary. Nahdlatul Ulama (NU),Indonesia's largest
Muslim organization, hosted some 300 scholars from 53
countries for its second International Conference of Islamic
Scholars June 20-22 in Jakarta and Bogor to address Islamic
solutions for economic and social ills facing Muslims,
especially the use of religion in sectarian conflicts.
Searching for a handle on these issues, conference delegates'
recommendations focused on finding Islamic solutions to
poverty and low education levels as well as ways to use
Muslim organizations, such as the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) to stop sectarian conflicts. Featuring
keynote addresses from President Yudhoyono and Malaysian
Prime Minister Abdullah on the need for Muslims to live in
peace with their neighbors, the conference also served to
reinforce NU's centrality in the Indonesian Islamic scene and
its continuing political and social importance both in
Indonesia and abroad.

Yudhoyono Continues International Muslim Outreach Theme
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2. (U) In his opening remarks, Yudhoyono revisited his theme
of empowering Muslims by embracing modernization that he
highlighted in speeches during his recent trip to Saudi
Arabia and at the D-8 Summit in Bali. Yudhoyono called on
Muslims to seek solutions to violence, noting that the most
effective way for Muslims to combat "Islamophobia" is through
living in harmony with non-Muslims. The President also
pre-empted some of the conference recommendations by calling
on the OIC to take a greater role in solving conflicts
involving Muslims as well as by encouraging the use of zakat,
alms giving, as an Islamic solution to poverty and
underdevelopment.

Abdullah Proffers Islam Hadhari to a Cool Audience
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3. (U) Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, upstaged by
a rush for the buffet during a break following Yudhoyono's
departure, extolled Malaysia's Islam Hadhari approach to
religious and social issues in his keynote address, but NU
organizers say Islam Hadhari attracted little discussion
during the conference. Abdullah rejected the notion of a
looming clash of civilizations between Islam and the West,
slamming the international media for fostering this notion
and saying media outlets had "fallen prey" to terrorists who
seek to create a gap between Islam and the West. Picking up
on the economic dimension of the conference, Abdullah also
called on Muslims to use international trade in halal goods
as an opportunity to promote development.

Stars Abound
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4. (C) Eager to curry favor with the NU, a range of Jakarta
politicos made appearances and facilitated parts of the
conference. Jakarta Vice-Governor and NU's Jakarta branch
chairman--also a contender in Jakarta's coming gubernatorial
election--Fauzi Bowo, took a high-profile opening day seat of
honor with Yudhoyono, Abdullah, and Religious Affairs
Minister Maftuh Basyuni. Ever petulant former President
Megawati Sukarnoputri, only appearing after Yudhoyono had
departed following his speech, paid an opening day visit to
the conference and her former running mate, Hasyim Muzadi.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Minister of State-Owned
Enterprises Sugiharto, and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso each
hosted gala dinners for the participants, and Minister for
State Administrative Reform Taufik Effendi and Minister of
Health Siti Fadillah Supari were opening day dignitaries.


5. (C) Hasyim Muzadi hosted the conference, highlighting his
leadership and the domestic and international clout that NU
can muster when it so chooses. NU Vice Secretary General
Iqbal Sullam told us that this conference, like the previous
iteration, was partially intended to boost Muzadi's profile
in global and Arab-based Muslim groups, such as the OIC. As
confirmation of Muzadi's ability to attract attention from
all parts of the Muslim world, attendees for the opening day

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festivities were treated to a strategically placed photo
display of Muzadi that highlighted his recent meeting with
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad in Jakarta in addition
to truckloads of agitprop from NU and related groups. NU
organizers also say that former NU chairman and President
Abdurrahman Wahid only appeared for the closing of the
conference, in contrast to his lively performance at the 2004
gathering (reftel). NU Shura Council Chairman Sahal Mahfudz,
who was recently hospitalized, did not deliver his scheduled
remarks.


6. (SBU) The international attendees, mostly decked out in
traditional scholarly attire from their respective countries,
were headlined by Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad of Jordan in
addition to PM Abdullah. NU leaders were also quick to
publicize the presence of the Holy See's representative,
Msgr. Khaled Akasheh of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, as well as a videotaped address from
Secretary General of the Council of the European Union Javier

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Solana. Continuing a family theme from the 2004 conference,
Egyptian Gamal al-Banna, brother of executed Muslim
Brotherhood founder Hasan al-Banna, proffered his sometimes
controversial liberal-leaning theological views in addition
to a dose of rhetoric about the alleged historical failings
of US foreign policy.

Searching for Solutions
--------------


7. (SBU) The conference's discussions and recommendations
stayed remarkably focused on its cumbersome theme, "Upholding
Islam as Blessings for the Universe Toward Global Justice and
Peace." On the conference's social justice aspect, the
attendees reiterated the need to find Islamic solutions to
the problems of poverty and minority and women's rights.
Rejecting so-called Western solutions to these problems, the
attendees, including Yudhoyono and Abdullah, belabored the
point that Islamic societies can modernize without a
wholesale acceptance of Western values. Discussions of
sharia and the rights of minorities in majority Muslim
societies gave Muhamamdiyah Chairman Din Syamsuddin an
opportunity to restate his views that Muslims should focus on
living "substantive Islam" rather than becoming pre-occupied,
like some sharia proponents, with the "formal" aspects of
religious law.


8. (SBU) Conference attendees also grappled with how to
counteract the manipulation of religion for political
purposes, and NU organizers were keen to note that the
conference grappled head-on with intra-Muslim sectarian
problems. Criticisms of political uses of religion, however,
were directed at both the West and fellow Muslims, such as
the late Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi, for exploiting religious
differences for their own gain. Several of the conference's
lengthy 37 recommendations amounted to little more than pleas
for the OIC and Muslim religious leaders to help pull Muslims
together while at the same time protecting Islam from
manipulation by outside forces.

Comment
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9. (C) This NU-organized confab offered an all-too-rare
opportunity for Indonesian Muslim thinkers to engage their
Middle Eastern counterparts on their home turf while crowing
for benefit of the local media. The delegates' vacuous plea
for the OIC to become more involved in peacemaking efforts,
however, illustrates the difficulty they had in developing
new responses to conflicts affecting Muslims, especially
conflicts between Muslims. Indonesian Muslim leaders also
continue to struggle to find an effective way to renounce the
ideas and methods of extremists without undercutting
themselves by fostering the perception that they are somehow
"splitting" the Muslim community.
AMSELEM