CDA'S INTRODUCTORY CALLS ON WORLD'S LARGEST MUSLIM

UNCLAS JAKARTA 001051 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KISL PGOV ID SUBJECT: CDA'S INTRODUCTORY CALLS ON WORLD'S LARGEST MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS REF: JAKARTA 993 This cable is sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) As part of post's ongoing engagement with Indonesia's Muslim community, CDA made courtesy calls on the chairmen of the world's two largest mass Muslim organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)'s Hasyim Muzadi and Muhammadiyah's Din Syamsuddin. By way of introducing their organizations, the chairmen both spoke about their organizations' long histories in Indonesia, not only as religious and cultural institutions but also as sources of political change. Syamsuddin particularly noted the critical role that Muslim organizations played in smoothing the transition to democracy here. ¶2. (SBU) Both emphasized the activities that they have undertaken to foster interfaith dialogue and understanding, Muzadi as NU's leader and a member of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars, and Syamsuddin in his dual role as Muhammadiyah chair and the head of the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI). (Note. In a separate meeting with the CDA, Jakarta's Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja praised Muzadi and, to a lesser extent, Syamsuddin for these efforts. End note.) Muzadi and Syamsuddin also pointed to the recent Sunni-Shi'a conference (ref A),co-sponsored by NU and Muhammadiyah, as evidence of their activism in promoting Middle East peace. ¶3. (SBU) Muzadi and Syamsuddin commented on their long-standing and largely positive relationships with the U.S. and other Western countries, with Syamsuddin noting that Muhammadiyah has been working with the U.S. for thirty-five years. Both men spoke with pride about various roundtable dialogues they had organized to bring U.S. officials together with representatives from the full range of Islamist organizations, notably after 9/11 and in the run-up to the war in Iraq. However, they were critical of U.S. foreign policy toward the Muslim world, and expressed disappointment that the U.S. "ignored" their advice not to invade Iraq. Muzadi was especially bitter and outspoken, contending that the bloodshed in Iraq has somehow proved his advice was correct. CDA pushed back that no one wanted peace and reconciliation in Iraq more than the U.S. Nevertheless, they emphasized that despite their disagreement with our policies, they were committed to maintain their organizations' cooperative relationships with us. HEFFERN