Abstract: Indonesia is of far greater strategic importance to the United States than we have yet realized. The usual reasons cited for engagement with Indonesia are the proximity of vital sea lines of communication; its population of 210 million, of whom almost ninety per cent are Muslim; its struggling democracy; and, recently, the prospect of Indonesia becoming a haven for Islamic terrorists. All of these factors matter, but there is one greater, encompassing issue that could affect not only the future of the region, but of the world: The future of Islam is being decided in Indonesia. There is one basic fact that both Westerners and Indonesians must grasp: Islamic fundamentalists from abroad do not care whether or not Indonesia has a successful future as long as it has a repressively-Islamic future. They would gladly let Indonesians suffer, if that is the price of religious purity. Extremists are interested only in religious discipline, not in public prosperity (in fact, ultra-extreme Muslims from the Arab homelands would prefer a poor Indonesia they can dominate to a burgeoning, self-confident country veering toward greater tolerance and secularism). The fiercest, most conservative Muslims in the Middle East are spending a great deal of money and effort to expand fundamentalist influence in Indonesia, building mosques, schools, and clinics, and buying influence among politicians. What is remarkable is not how much, but how little success the radicals have had to date. The future of Islam is up for grabs in Indonesia. Our enemies and false friends are grabbing with both hands, while we are not even reaching out.
| Limitations: |  APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE | | Pages: | 80 | | Report Date: | 2001 | | Report Number: | A381334 | | | | |
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