Dealing with Indonesian Foreign Policy in the Middle East
Author : Dina Y. Sulaeman *
I think , Indonesia should also be angry when both Erdogan and Anwar Ibrahim 'teach' how Indonesia should behave. Actually this is really disrespectful. Diplomatically, the Erdogan's frontal stance against the Assad regime and the Egyptian military has actually violated the ethics and harmed the Turkey's own national interests. Of course , with his style, Erdogan was hailed by Muslims around the world (even called 'caliph'). But, take a look, how much money and energy should be expended by Turkey to confront Egypt and Syria? Who will benefit, Erdogan and his party (whose the Muslim Brotherhood ideology), or Turkish national interests as a whole?Does this mean that Indonesia does not pay more attention to the fate of hundreds of MB activists murdered and hundreds of others detained by the military? Of course we all care and are concerned. But what form is the disclosure of the concern? This should be considered carefully (back to my previous explanation). In addition, the Egyptian conflict mapping actually indicates that this is a political fight. However, some Muslim groups in Indonesia have tried to involve it to an ideological (religious)fight. Already known, the attitude of MB sympathizers who always accused parties of  not supporting them as liberal, Shia, or even disbelieve (at least, this is what their media voiced). At this point there are potential conflicts that would arise in the country if the government of Indonesia involves itself in the conflict. (read : Egyptian conflict mapping).Third , the government was the one that should shape public opinion related to the Middle East, not the radical organizations. Again, this is for the national interests. So far, the public opinion shaping related to the Middle East have been massively carried out  in the mosques, campuses, and social networkings that are  transnational Islamic organizations such as Hizbut Tahrir (HT) and the MB sympathizers. [[[[As a Muslim I certainly agree with the ideas of the Muslims to struggle against the Zionist oppression. But the problem is that, howdays, the idea of struggle has shifted into a battle against fellow Muslims. For example, in the case of Syria, those who revolt against the Assad regime are the Egyptian MB and the Syrian HT. Both have used the issue of Shia to trigger the conflict escalation (Assad was fought with allegations that he was violent towards Shia and Sunni). To align with the agenda of the struggle of the Muslims against the Zionists, they invented narratives that 'Shiites were tantamount to Zionists'.]]]]]]The Indonesian BM and HT activists just copy - paste this narrative to be disseminated in Indonesia. They have disseminated their hatred against Shiites, including the Shiites in Indonesia (=countrymen). What can be expected from this kind of sectarian propaganda, in addition to ultimately dividing the nation itself? When the public has focused more on the matter of sectarian, and been busy suspecting other people's faith, how could Indonesian people move forward? [ed notes:just citing excerpts,click link for whole piece...more from the indonesian think tank,author and middle east...Special Interview 'They' came to kill Syrian people ,Author : Dina http://www.theglobal-review.com/content_detail.php?lang=en&id=12089&type=13#.UjtCnFM1A9U
 INDONESIAN INSTITUTE DENOUNCES ZIONIST/U.S./NATO CRIMES AGAINST SYRIA...The Global Future Institute (GFI) statement related to current situation in Syria http://thenakedfacts.blogspot.com/2013/02/indonesian-institute-denounces-zionistu.html
INDONESIAN THINK TANK...Overview of the failure of world police theories in Syria http://thenakedfacts.blogspot.com/2013/07/indonesian-think-tank.html