U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE OIC VISITS INDONESIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 001652 SIPDIS DEPT. FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, DRL, DRL/AWH, DRL/IRF NSC FOR E. PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/02/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL KIRF ID SUBJECT: U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE OIC VISITS INDONESIA JAKARTA 00001652 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Sada Cumber, U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC),recently visited Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world by population. During the visit, he discussed proposals for greater cooperation between the USG and the OIC. He outlined a proposed U.S.-OIC Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focusing on education, economic development, good governance and women's empowerment. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY (Con'd)): Underscoring strong support for religious freedom, Cumber said it was time for the "silent majority" in Muslim countries to speak up in favor of tolerance and moderation, saying "there is no clash of civilizations, rather a clash of ignorance, whereby the West must better understand Islam and Islam needs to respect other religions." He said it was time for the Muslim world to work from within to better itself as opposed to blaming the West. He promised that the USG would continue to support inter-faith dialogue and outreach to Muslims around the world. END SUMMARY. VISIT BY S/E CUMBER ¶3. (C) Special Envoy to the OIC Sada Cumber visited Indonesia from August 18-20 and met with GoI officials, Islamic organizations, and university and secondary school students. He outlined his role as Special Envoy to the OIC and sought support for the USG's proposed MOU with the OIC, which focuses on education, economic development, good governance and women's empowerment. Specifically, he said it was very important for Muslims internationally to place greater emphasis on higher education, the strengthening of civil society, good governance, transparency, accountability and access to justice. MEETING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER ¶4. (U) Cumber met with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda on August 20. He explained his role in the newly appointed position of S/E to the OIC and called on Indonesia to support the independence of Kosovo and international religious tolerance efforts. Cumber said President Bush was disturbed by the negative image of Muslims around the world and had created the Special Envoy position in hopes of bridging a gap between the West and the Muslim world. Cumber 
told Wirayuda he was working with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure better treatment of Muslim visitors to the U.S. and to streamline security processes deemed as "unfair" treatment of Muslims in the visa process. ¶5. (C) Wirayuda supported and welcomed the U.S.' role in the OIC. He said Cumber's efforts to ensure better treatment of Muslims at U.S. airports would help Muslims to feel less discriminated against by the U.S. He said he was worried about the growing trend to view Islam as violent and intolerant and that the small extreme minorities did not represent Muslims as a whole. He said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had been used by radicals to justify violence and said a more balanced U.S. policy towards the Middle East would help both at the grassroots and leadership levels. Wirayuda said Indonesia was very active in promoting both regional interfaith and intrafaith dialogue. ¶6. (C) In a separate meeting, Indonesian Special Envoy to the Middle East Alwi Shihab said that although Islam in the Middle East was moving more to the right, there had been some movement on the status of women. "Education is the answer to extremism--and Indonesia is under the influence of forces from outside Indonesia, particularly from Iran and Saudi Arabia," he said. Shihab welcomed greater assistance from the U.S. with education and said Indonesia needed this assistance in order to prevent it from becoming another "Pakistan." JAKARTA 00001652 002.2 OF 003 MEETING WITH MINISTER OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS ¶7. (C) Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh Basyuni said Indonesia had a strong history of religious harmony and freedom of religion was protected under the Constitution. He said the current religious conflicts in Indonesia were primarily economic and political conflicts. Basyuni said the Ministry of Religion tried to build consensus by bringing religious groups together for dialogue and consensus. He said the GoI knows it has no legal right to interfere in the rights of individuals, but has the responsibility to keep harmony within society. Basyuni was very critical of U.S. policy towards the Middle East. CALLING FOR DIALOGUE ¶8. (C) In a meeting with the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI),a semi-official body of Muslim scholars, Cumber said it was time for the Muslim silent majority in the world to speak up in favor of tolerance and moderation. "The Middle East has become too much the focus of Islam," he said. He encouraged Indonesia to support a tolerant and consensus-seeking Islam. Cumber said it was time for the Muslim world to unite and stop intra-faith fighting. ¶9. (C) Cumber added that it was not the role of the U.S. or the West to fix problems within the Muslim world; that was the role of Muslims, of course. He just wanted to extend his hand as a partner. MEETINGS WITH KEY MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS ¶10. (C) S/E Cumber met with the leaders of Indonesia's two largest Islamic organizations, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah, with a combined membership of approximately 80 million Muslims (they are the largest such organizations in the Muslim world). His discussions centered on the need for intrafaith dialogue and tolerance within the international Islamic community. ¶11. (C) NU Chair Ahmad Hasyim Muzadi welcomed Cumber's involvement in the OIC and said the NU was already working to promote intrafaith dialogue, and had sponsored several regional forums to promote peace and religious tolerance. Cumber told Muzadi that he had asked U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to hold an Iftar--evening meal to break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan--for the OIC leadership gathered in New York for UNGA in order to underscore USG respect for Islam. Muzadi said Indonesia was a "victim of extremism," caused by the conflict between the West and Islam in the Middle East. He claimed that such extremism did not arise from internal sources. ¶12. (C) Muhammadiyah Chair Din Syamsuddin said the U.S. should stop making reference to "Judeo-Christian" values and begin using the term "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" values. He said there was not enough focus on Indonesia within the Muslim world and noted that 93 percent of Muslims internationally do not condone violence or terrorism. Syamsuddin said the U.S. should not see the Muslim world as a threat or enemy, but rather as a partner. He criticized the U.S. "war on terror" because he asserted that it served to stereotype Islam, which in fact is a peaceful religion that does not condone violence. Syamsuddin agreed that it was important to bring differing religions and cultures together through dialogue and cooperation and called for greater educational exchanges between Indonesia and the U.S. OUTREACH TO STUDENTS ¶13. (U) Approximately 50 students and faculty--the vast majority women--attended a speech by Cumber at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta. He spoke about Muslims in the U.S. and encouraged the students to JAKARTA 00001652 003.2 OF 003 stand up for moderation and not to be the silent majority. When asked about the compatibility of Islam with democracy, Cumber said that as tolerance and consensus were inherent to Islam, by definition Islamic values were compatible with democratic values. ¶14. (U) S/E Cumber also visited an Islamic boarding school (pesantren) where he met with 500 middle and high school students--equal numbers of male and female. He spoke about the need for greater education to promote tolerance and the importance of equality and empowerment for women. The students showed great interest in opportunities to study in the U.S. ¶15. (U) S/E Cumber approved this message. HUME