ISLAMIC CONFERENCE STRESSES MODERATE THEMES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001481 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, NEA NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL ID SUBJECT: ISLAMIC CONFERENCE STRESSES MODERATE THEMES REF: JAKARTA 1348 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A major Indonesian Islamic organization, Nadhlatul Ulama (NU),and the GOI hosted a large international conference of Islamic scholars in Jakarta last week. Starting with President Yudhoyono's opening address, the conference generally hit on positive themes. As part of this moderate tone--and befitting NU and the Indonesian government's generally constructive take on international issues--attendees were relatively constrained in their expressions of anti-American, anti-Western and anti-Israel views. END SUMMARY. A MAJOR CONFERENCE ¶2. (SBU) The Indonesian mass-Muslim organization Nadhlatul Ulama and the Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs (DEPLU) organized the Third International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) in Jakarta, July 29-August 1. The conference theme was "Peace Building and Conflict Prevention in the Muslim World." Approximately 350 scholars from 64 countries attended. NU organized similar conferences in 2004 and 2006 and plans to continue to hold the event biannually. (Note: NU is considered the largest mass religious organization in the Muslim world with roughly 40 million members.) INDONESIAN PRESIDENT STRIKES A MODERATE TONE ¶3. (SBU) President Yudhoyono opened the event with a speech that called on Muslims to look inward and address the problems within their own societies. He noted that many conflicts in the world were between Muslims. Yudhoyono cited a recent United Nations Human Development Report that showed Muslim countries lagging in virtually every development indicator--this despite the fact that many were endowed with great natural resource wealth. This underdevelopment, SBY argued, was the cause of many conflicts in the Muslim world. Muslims must work together to solve these problems. Yudhoyono pointed to some hopeful signs, including the peaceful resolution of the separatist conflict in Aceh and the recent progress in talks involving the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in Mindanao. HITTING MOSTLY POSITIVE THEMES ¶4. (SBU) Most of the conference discussions focused on promoting moderation and tolerance. NU Chair Hasyim Muzadi said it was the duty of all Muslims to prevent a few �0A;extremists from "hijacking" Islam in order to spread a message of violence and terror. Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the governments of Muslim countries had to do more to prevent intrastate conflicts. He cited the GOI's role in helping resolve sectarian conflicts in Poso and Ambon as an example for other governments to emulate. FM Wirajuda called on Muslims to prevent conflicts between states, which he blamed on economic injustice. Many conference participants spoke of the need for more developed Muslim countries to assist their less developed peers. ¶5. (SBU) While most conference participants called for Muslims to look inward for the causes of their problems, some pointed to outside factors. Lebanese scholar Sheikh Ali Darmusy said that foreign--especially American--intervention in the Middle East was at the root of conflicts there. He also said that foreign forces had exacerbated Sunni-Shia tensions throughout the region. An Iraqi participant, Sheikh Sadr al-Din al-Qabbanji, said that the Iraqi people wanted coalition forces withdrawn by 2009. DECLARATION STRESSES NEED FOR SELF HELP ¶6. (SBU) The conference concluded with the adoption of a declaration that called for Muslim solutions to Muslim problems. Highlights of the declaration, dubbed "the Jakarta Message," included: JAKARTA 00001481 002 OF 002 --Islam is a religion of peace; --Conflicts in the Muslim world are due to economic and political factors, not religion; --Muslims should work together to fight poverty, illiteracy, alienation and other sources of conflict; --Muslim communities should empower women and youth and encourage their civic participation; and, --Muslims have a duty to help each other and create an "ulama without borders." OVERALL, A POSITIVE MESSAGE ¶7. (C) Befitting NU and the Indonesian government's moderate take on international issues, attendees were relatively constrained in their expressions of anti-American, anti-Western and anti-Israel views. For the most part, the conference stressed positive messages of rejecting violence and extremism. It also highlighted Indonesian leaders' increasing tendency to address problems like Middle East peace by focusing on concrete issues like economic development. The conference also allowed Indonesian officials to highlight their own success in resolving some of the country's internal conflicts. (Note: Indonesia recently hosted a capacity building conference for the Palestinian Authority. This event avoided sensitive political subjects--and Israel bashing--and focused instead on helping the PA in areas like education, health and economic development. See reftel.) HUME