Indonesian Archipelago to Valleys of Allah
Indonesia was less of a Muslim country prior to the Dutch invasion. However, when the Indonesians experienced the European atrocities albeit under the banner of Christianity and realised the true nature of these newly arrived Westerners, which was basically similar to the fundamental nature and attitude of the Conquistadors; the people in response then started to adopt Islam more rapidly as a means of gaining strength and a counter to the European's obvious dominating drive. In reality Islam was not forced on Indonesians as some people would like to claim now. They in fact took it up voluntarily.
ndonesia until fairly recent times used to be a religiously tolerant country. However, since the idiocy of 9/11 there has been a very noticeable reduction of the tolerance level of Indonesians towards Westerners. Specifically, the arrogance and ignorance directed towards Islam and to Muslims, since 9/11 that emanated from the
In addition, after the Bali bombing, the blatant interference and pressure from the outsiders made far too many Indonesians angry against the rude and arrogant "masters". This situation created a sense of pain and helplessness and a feeling of being victimized, once again by outsiders. In many ways it appeared that the Westerners, led noticeably by
As occurred in Indonesia, Islam was taken up by people of the current Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and many other countries with an open heart rather than by force as some people would like to propagate. In many ways the traditional area of
For reasons better known to them, the Western corporate governments used to support religious radicals over secular nationalists. For example they have created and supported Bin laden and Al-Qaida, including the corrupt General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who to his disgrace, failed to find any Pakistani scholar to support his ridiculous "fatwas"! However, he found some obsequious and obscure Islamic experts from
This trend continues to this present day. Therefore, do not blame any particular race or religion for the current regional quagmire.
So, the way forward, the solution to this mess is to follow proper democracy, free speech and an independent judiciary as well as avoid arrogance and ignorance imposed by the outsiders at the barrel of a gun in a mad pursuit of the dollar.
Ultimately, the lesson is; allow free speech, democracy and an independent judiciary to operate and flourish. Undoubtedly, this will steer the region towards a free and peaceful and stable society. Do not terrorise or suppress your own population, or anyone else's, simply to be in pursuit of the mighty dollar.
Moderator
Thursday, October 01, 2009
