REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- As the world's largest Muslim nation, Indonesia should show Islam in a different light from that described by many media reports and recent White House statements, said an international relation expert.
Teuku Rezasyah from the University of Padjajaran in Bandung, made the statement on Saturday in response to the inaugural address of US President Donald Trump.
Trump, a Republican, vowed to "unite the civilized world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate completely from the face of the earth" during his inaugural speech on Friday. "It is obvious that he focused on Islamic radicals during his address, but if radicalism exists in every religion according to sociological studies, then why did he only mention Islam," said Rezasyah.
He also called on the Indonesian Muslims to not get provoked by Trump's statements. Instead, they should respond to Trump's narrow view through diplomatic means.
Indonesia should aim to help improve the understanding of Islam by developed nations, therefore we should invite them look at Islam in a broader sense, he added. "Once there is better understanding by developed nations, the US will also notice and their old perceptions will be challenged," he concluded.
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