c. 2006 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Indonesia’s first elected president on Monday (June 26) called for a “spiritual regeneration” within Islam to counteract extremists who he said have given Muslims a bad reputation.

“The world today faces a crisis of understanding that threatens all of humanity,” said Abdurrahman Wahid. “The crisis afflicts Muslims and non-Muslims alike with tragic consequences.”

The first democratically elected president in Indonesia, Wahid loosened restrictions on press freedoms, decentralized the national government and eliminated discriminatory laws during his term from 1999 to 2001. But he was impeached and removed from office amid charges of corruption in 2001.

“He’s always been controversial,” said John Esposito, director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. “He’s always done things from time to time that have affected his credibility, but then he has bounced back.”

With 245 million people _ about 88 percent of them Muslims _ Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

Esposito noted that Wahid has been spreading his message for decades, though it is now starting to get attention outside the Muslim world. Despite his impeachment, Wahid continues to be one of the most respected figures in mainstream Islam, Esposito said.

Wahid now advises the nonprofit group LibForAll, short for Liberty for All, a U.S.-based organization that is trying to spread the message of moderate Islam. Wahid has spoken publicly against religious fatwas issued by terrorist groups, attempting to isolate them as disconnected from the rest of the faith.

Wahid made his remarks by satellite from Jakarta at a news conference hosted by LibForAll in Washington.

He has tried to mobilize moderate Muslim clerics to speak up as leaders of the “silent majority” of Muslims who condemn terrorism.

“The most effective way to overcome Islamic extremism is to explain what Islam really is,” Wahid said. “It is necessary to promote a spiritual regeneration within Islam itself.”

But it is difficult to gauge how well Wahid’s message is being heard. The group he leads in Indonesia, Nahdlatul Ulama, claims to be the world’s largest Islamic organization, with 40 million members.

“The extent to which the extremists have the front page politically and media-wise … generally overshadows what is going on in mainstream Islam,” Esposito said.

“When your reformers are out there calling for reform … that’s not going to be as much of a major story, and if it is covered it will be covered far less.”

Wahid pointed to the surging popularity of Indonesian singer Ahmad Dhani as one way that moderate Islam can push its image into the popular culture universe. Dhani’s song “Laskar Cinta,” or “Warriors of Love,” has topped music charts throughout Asia since its release in 2004.

Dhani’s album, though it has sold more than 2 million copies in Southeast Asia, has yet to be distributed in the United States. His music uses verses from the Koran and sayings of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad to articulate themes of love, tolerance and respect.

“There are plans to take that whole musical fatwa concept worldwide,” said Laura Finlayson, a spokeswoman for LibForAll. “That is one of the next steps.”

In the meantime, Finlayson added, the song is available for free on LibForAll’s Web site, http://www.libforall.org.

KRE/PH END SACHS

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