Aceh ulama regrets govt to welcome Bush despite rejection by Muslim majority

Banda Aceh, NU Online
Teungku Faisal Aly, a young ulema (Muslim leader) of Aceh, has expressed regret that the Indonesian government will welcome US President George Walker Bush on his planned visit to Indonesia despite rejection by many Indonesian Muslims.

"The central government should listen to the aspiration of the majority of the country’s  Muslims who reject Bush’s upcoming visit. We also clearly express our rejection of Bush’s visit, whatever its purpose may be,"  Aly, chairman of the Aceh Rabithah Thaliban (Islamic Boarding School Association), said here on Friday (10/11).

"Bush has caused chaotic situations in the world by invading  predominantly Muslim countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. In relation with Indonesia’s domestic issues, Bush has also applied double standards in his policies by pressuring Indonesia, especially concerning human rights and democracy," he said.

He suggested that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also reject Bush’s visit on the ground that the visit would harm the Indonesian government’s credibility.

"The government’s stance in welcoming Bush’s visit can be interpreted as Indonesia bowing to whatever the US wants," Faisal Aly, head of the Sibreh Islamic Boarding School in Aceh Besar district, said.

He also blamed the US government for letting its close ally Israel continue to slaughter Palestinian people.

"I fully support the stance of Islamic organizations which reject double-standard leaders such as George Bush. Bush with his ’iron fist’ is responsible for the killing of Muslims in the name of its war on terrorism," Faisal Aly said.

A number of Indonesian Muslim and student organizations have lately been staging rallies to express their rejection of  George Bush’s planned visit because in their view the US President’s policies have been unfriendly towards Muslims, especially Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. (ant/dar)