Quote:
Originally posted by Rudey
You're talking about the government only though...but then again, I'm not sure what is going on outside of the government there.
Listen, when the heart of Islam is in the middle east (Mecca and all), it speaks a lot for Islam when that region moves towards extremism, funds radical wahabism, and so many terrorists come from there espousing those ideals.
-Rudey
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Believe it or not, Islam in the Southeast Asia is very very different then the middle east. In Indonesia in particular, people look toward the leaders of Muhammadiyah and NU for their spiritual guidence. And these two organizations have made it clear that Wahabinism will never be accepted by them. They have made it clear that the current state ideology, Pancasila, is the only ideology that is acceptable for Indonesia. This point of view is accepted not only by thw two organizations, but other faith based organizations in the country.
If you are wondering how much influence those two organization hold, they yiled very big influence. Politicians clamored to get their support, in which the two organizations has said that as a religious organization, they can not and will not meddle in political affairs. Almost all the academics and analyst have said that an Islamic state in Indonesia is, to the word of Prof. Harold Crouch, "unimaginable."
Saudi Arabia is the "home" of Islam. However, the ideology that is currently in Saudi Arabia has been rejected by most of the people in Indonesia and Southeast Asia in general. Some have accepted it, but they are in the minority. Like I said, you just have to look at the voting behaviour. If Wahabinism has gain a strong footing in the region, the radical Islamic parties would have garnered more votes. There was an interesting analysis that said that the reason JI is being more abresive with their bombings is because they are being ignored by the general public. I don;t know if its true or not, but it is certainly plausible.
ETA: NU has an estimated membership of over 40 millions, and Muhammadiyah has an estimated membership of over 20 millions.
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