MUSLIM ORGANIZATION PRODUCING MOVIE FOCUSED ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001790

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, DRL/IRF, EAP/PD,
ECA
NSC FOR D.WALTON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/27/2019
TAGS: PGOV KISL ID
SUBJECT: MUSLIM ORGANIZATION PRODUCING MOVIE FOCUSED ON
COMBATING INTOLERANCE

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Muhammadiyah--one of Indonesia's largest
Muslim organizations with over 35 million members--is
producing a movie designed to promote religious tolerance.
Muhammadiyah has teamed up with Indonesian National
Intelligence (BIN),the police, and an ex-leader of the
terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah to produce the three-part
documentary, which outlines the transformation of a former
Islamic hardliner into a national promoter of tolerance. The
producers plan for the movie to be distributed to over 15,000
educational institutions. Muhammadiyah hopes the movie can
help turn the young away from intolerance. END SUMMARY.

AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT


2. (SBU) Muhammadiyah is joining the fight against extremism
by embarking on a large-scale film project. The three-part
film will outline the life of Ahmad Syafi'i Maarif from his
early days as an Islamic fundamentalist to his becoming one
of Indonesia's leading activists for pluralism, democracy,
and interfaith tolerance. In producing the movie,
Muhammadiyah is working in close coordination with BIN, the
police and former Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member Nasir Abas.


3. (SBU) The plan is to launch three separate staggered
documentaries at Indonesia's largest cinemas with the hope of
reaching nearly one million viewers per film. After the
launching, the Muhammadiyah team will distribute copies of
the film to the estimated 15,000 educational institutions
within the Muhammadiyah network. Muhammadiyah is still in
the process of seeking the necessary funding (nearly one
million U.S. dollars),but several donors are on board.

A FASCINATING STORY


4. (U) As touched on, the movie will deal with Syafi'i
Maarif, a well-known Indonesian promoter of tolerance. Part
one will chronicle Maarif's early years spent as an Islamic
hardliner and supporter of the Islamic political party
Masyumi. As a young activist, Maarif--who is now
74--advocated for the creation of an Islamic state in
Indonesia, albeit through peaceful means. (Note: Masyumi
was Indonesia's largest Islamic party in the 1950s. The
party was later banned by former president Sukarno on the
grounds that its leaders had supported a regional rebellion
in Sumatra and in eastern Indonesia.)


5. (U) Part two will focus on Maarif's time in the United
States when Maarif studied at the University of Chicago under
the Pakistani thinker Fazlur Rahman. Maarif sought out
Rahman in hopes of gaining enough knowledge of Islam to
convert Indonesia into an Islamic state. However, Maarif
later chronicles that it was through his discussions with
Rahman that he was able to get off "the path of
fundamentalism which was filled with flaming spirit but empty
from deep, contemplative thoughts." He claims to have never
found the term "Islamic state" in the Koran or any other
classical Islamic literature. Consequently, he concluded it
was a modern invention and thus found no justification for
fighting for it. Maarif returned to Indonesia where he faced
criticism from the hardline community, called a "pawn" of the
United States, and accused of betraying the political ideas
of Masyumi's founding father Mohammad Natsir.


6. (U) Part three will follow Maarif's rise to national
notoriety as a defender of democracy, pluralism, and
interreligious dialogue. He is now considered an icon of
Islamic pluralism, defender of Pancasila--core Indonesian
principles embracing pluralism--and a beacon of hope for a
democracy in which people of all faiths have equal rights.
The final chapter of the segment will consist of interviews
with leading national figures, including former Indonesian
president Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) and former vice
president Jusuf Kalla, among others.

A POSITIVE STEP FORWARD


7. (C) The aim is to have the project completed by early
next year. It is a positive step forward for Muhammadiyah,
which (newly) admits that hardliners are a growing force in
its ranks. It also serves as a positive example of
Indonesians working to prevent the rise of radicalism. In
addition to the movie, Muhammadiyah is considering other
steps focused on curbing any drift by the young toward

JAKARTA 00001790 002 OF 002


radicalism.


8. (C) Nahdhlatul Ulama (NU),Indonesia's largest Muslim
organization, faces similar issues to those faced by
Muhammadiyah and the group has launched some small-scale
localized efforts to combat extremism. That said, NU--though
its institutional heart is in the right place--is not as well
organized and lacks Muhammadiyah's strong national
leadership, so a concerted NU effort is not in sight at this
point. (Note: Negotiations are still underway to distribute
the Muhammadiyah film to around 5,000 state-run schools and
to the vast pesantren network controlled by Nahdlatul Ulama.)


HUME