By Travis Loller

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP)–Islam is suddenly on trial in a booming Nashville suburb, where opponents of a new mosque have spent six days in court trying to link it to what they claim is a conspiracy to take over America by imposing restrictive religious rule.

The hearing is supposed to be about whether Rutherford County officials violated Tennessee’s open meetings law when they approved the mosque’s site plan. Instead, plaintiff’s attorney Joe Brandon Jr. has used it as a forum to question whether the world’s second-biggest faith even qualifies as a religion, and to push a theory that American Muslims want to replace the Constitution with extremist Islamic law.

“Do you want to know about a direct connection between the Islamic Center and Shariah law, a.k.a. terrorism?” Brandon asked one witness in a typical line of questioning.

Brandon has repeatedly conflated a moderate version of Shariah with its most extreme manifestations, suggesting that all Muslims must adhere to those interpretations.

At one point, he asked whether Rutherford County Commissioner Gary Farley supported hanging a whip in his house as a warning to his wife and then beating her with it, something Brandon claimed was part of “Shariah religion.”

The commissioner protested that he would never beat his wife.

County attorney Jim Cope objected to the question, saying, “This is a circus.”

The rhetoric has conjured up comparisons to another culture clash that played out in a Tennessee courtroom a hundred miles and nearly a century away from Murfreesboro, a college city of 100,000 that is among the fastest-growing communities in the country. In 1925, the world watched as evolution came under attack at the Scopes monkey trial in Dayton, Tenn.

Chancellor Robert Corlew has consistently given the plaintiffs leeway to present testimony by nonexperts and documents that they cannot prove are legitimate, saying he reserves the right to strike things from the record later.

Corlew, who holds an elected office, has given little explanation for why he has allowed the testimony to stray so far afield.

Since it is not a jury trial, the judge can ultimately disregard anything he deems irrelevant. Several attorneys suggested he may want the plaintiffs, three residents who object to how the mosque came about, to feel they were able to have their say.

That could explain why Corlew has allowed Brandon to repeatedly question witnesses about whether Islam is a legitimate religion — even after the Department of Justice stepped in with a brief stating that it was.

When Farley, the commissioner, told Brandon the federal government defined Islam as a religion, Brandon responded, “Are you one of those people who believes everything the government says? Are you aware the government once said it was OK to own slaves?”

Other faiths have risen to the defense of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. The newly formed Interfaith Coalition on Mosques, which is composed of prominent Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and Southern Baptists and other Protestants, has filed a brief in the case.

It’s good for the mosque’s opponents to get their day in court — testimony is to resume Friday — said the Rev. Joel Hunter, an evanglical megachurch pastor and coalition member.

But it’s “really out there” to question whether Islam is a religion, said Hunter, who leads a Longwood, Fla., congregation called Northland, A Church Distributed.

Seeking to prove that the mosque has terrorist leanings, witnesses have pointed out that board member Mosaad Rowash previously had pro-Hamas postings on his MySpace page, something the mosque’s leaders have not denied. The U.S. government considers Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic political party with an armed wing that has attacked Israel, a terrorist organization.

The political views of Rowash — who hasn’t been called to testify and hasn’t commented publicly — and other board members are “totally irrelevant,” said Deborah Lauter, the director of civil rights for the Jewish Anti-Defamation League, which sponsors the interfaith coalition.

If all of the members of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro were public cheerleaders for Hamas, it would still be illegal to discriminate against them because the First Amendment protects freedom of worship, she said.

Even the group that provided the information on Rowash, the Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism, doesn’t claim that the MySpace postings prove anything about the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro or its members.

Managing director Ray Locker said the Washington group provided the information about Rowash to a Tennessee resident who sent an inquiry about the mosque. He said how such information is used is beyond his group’s control.

“We don’t consider all Muslims to be terrorists,” he said. “The vast majority of American Muslims just want to worship freely, just like members of other religions.”

That wasn’t the message of witness Frank Gaffney, the president and founder of the Washington-based Center for Security Policy and a former deputy assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration.

While acknowledging he was not an expert on Shariah law, Gaffney testified that Shariah, and by extension the new mosque, poses a threat to America.

Shariah isn’t really law, at least not law as a universally recognized, codified body of rules and rights, the way Americans have come to know it. Shariah is a set of core principles that most Muslims recognize as well as a series of rulings from religious scholars.

It’s some of those rulings, such as stoning a woman to death for committing adultery, that many non-Muslim Americans find reprehensible. But many Muslims, in America and around the world, are equally horrified by them, said Mohammad Fadel, an assistant professor of law at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and an expert on Islamic law.

The mosque project has had problems outside court as well. A sign at the construction site was spray-painted with the words “Not Welcome” and torn in half, and federal investigators have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in what they say was the arson of a dump truck on the grounds.

Hunter, the Florida pastor, said he studied American history in college and knows that what is happening to Muslims today has happened to other groups in the past.

“Every minority — and Islam is very much a minority in this country right now — has had to struggle for equal rights,” he said. “Islam is facing that now and we will not rest until they have equal rights with other religions.”

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Muslim community leaders say plans for new facilities are a response to demand

By Zain Shauk

Children ages 7-16 study the Quran and Arabic at Sugar Land’s Maryam Masjid, whose prayer area can accommodate 1,300 people.

Forty years ago, the thought of granite counter tops, marble floors and indoor basketball gyms at Houston mosques seemed unthinkable.

But after decades of growth, the Muslim community is expanding and building new facilities at an unprecedented pace, with features and amenities that rival five-star hotels, leaders say.

Multimillion-dollar plans for major mosque expansions and constructions are moving forward throughout the Houston area, coming on the heels of recently finished developments.

A community in Katy is pushing forward its long-awaited plan to develop a $10 million mosque, community center and school, and a group in Spring is working on a $10 million expansion at a recently built $2.5 million mosque.

Other plans on the horizon include an Islamic center on 10 acres in Pearland, a development that will total at least $1.1 million for the first of multiple construction phases.

Those and other developments are part of a national phenomenon of expansion of Muslim facilities, which has come at a time of intense opposition to mosques stoked by a controversy surrounding the planned $140 million Park51 community center project in New York City.

Nationwide, the number of mosques has surged 57 percent over the last 10 years, from 1,209 to 1,897, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Today, as Muslims begin celebrating Eid al-Adha, one of two major holidays, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston will not hold a central prayer service at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in part because of the increased accessibility of mosques and Islamic centers throughout the region.

Response to demand

Muslim community leaders are keenly aware of the concern over construction of mosques and were quick to emphasize that the community’s plans for new facilities are a response to demand and not an attempt to conquer land in the name of Islam.

“We are all Americans,” said Dr. Aziz Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. “We’re not taking anything over.”

Most of the new or expanding facilities did not face resistance, except for the MAS Katy Center. The owner of land next to the mosque property held pig races on the lot on Fridays, the holiest day of the week for Muslims, after the center’s organizers came forward with a plan for the mosque. Eating pork is forbidden in Islam.

As the Houston Muslim community has grown and matured, members have begun to demand more facilities, closer to their homes and in line with higher standards of quality than the hastily constructed and expanded mosques developed in recent decades, leaders said.

That is what drove a group of mainly HP employees and doctors in Spring and Cypress to build a facility there 14 years ago on 13 acres, said Ahmed Ahuja, secretary of the mosque and a program manager for HP.

Now the mosque is expanding, with the steel frame of Masjid As-Salam’s new section extending out of the current prayer area and outlining a segment that will house a school, health clinic, community hall and other facilities once it is finished, he said. 

Community is growing

At least three new mosques opened this year in the Houston area and two are undergoing major expansions. Two new community centers, in Pearland and Katy, are in development.

A plan for a new Islamic center in the Cinco Ranch area is in the works, and there is interest in adding facilities near Atascocita, said Siddiqui, whose organization oversees one of the new facilities.

“The reason for it is just the Muslim community by and large in this country is growing,” said Mustafaa Carroll, executive director for the Texas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Job opportunities in the Houston area have led to population growth in the Muslim community, which has included immigrants filling jobs at energy and information technology firms, community leaders said.

Muslims across the nation are also more financially capable and educated and have more established communities than their immigrant parents did, said Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

“Most of the mosques that were around in the last 20 years were basically rented-out spaces from industrial parks,” he said. “That’s basically what was manageable at the time and now that our parents’ generation is entering its retirement phase and has accumulated wealth there’s more money to build nicer and more functional centers.”

‘Running out of space’

The local projects are being funded by donations from the community.

Among the Houston area expansions is Clear Lake Islamic Center, which opened in September 2009. The center will double in size to 20,000 square feet, with a planned expansion to include a fitness center and larger community hall.

“We were running out of space, basically,” said Ibrahim Ezghair, administrator of the year-old center.

A community near Hobby Airport opened a new mosque, Masjid Warithuddeen Mohammed, before Ramadan in August. That’s also when the largest mosque in the Houston area opened: the Maryam Islamic Center — New Territory, in Sugar Land. Its prayer area – capable of accommodating 1,300 men and women – is bigger than that of the largest mosque in the nation, the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Mich.

Siddiqui said there are more than 100 Muslim prayer spaces in the greater Houston area and there is a need for more.

zain.shauk@chron.com

Houston Chronicle

By Mark Clayton

Stuxnet, the world’s first known “cyber missile,” was designed to sabotage special power supplies used almost exclusively in nuclear fuel-refining centrifuge systems, researchers studying its code have revealed. The discovery is another puzzle piece experts say points to Iran’s nuclear centrifuge plants as the likely target.

While the discovery may seem just another bit of circumstantial evidence, it is a critical one that appears to all but answer a central mystery surrounding Stuxnet: What was its target?
Stuxnet was discovered in June by a Belarus antivirus company, and its unique ability to control industrial processes was uncovered by US researchers in July. But its true role as the world’s first publicly known cyber super weapon – designed to cross the digital divide and destroy a very specific target in the real world – was only revealed in September.
Even then, the target was mostly an informed guess. Was Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant or its nuclear centrifuge fuel-refining plant at Natanz the target, as some suggested? Or was it something quite different, like the big Indian-made satellite that failed dramatically in July?

It now appears that a smoking gun within Stuxnet’s software code targets power supplies almost certainly used inside any Iranian nuclear fuel refining plant, researchers say. Working separately, researchers at California computer security firm Symantec arrived at the same conclusion as researchers in Germany late last week: Nuclear-fuel centrifuges were the target.
The researchers followed a complex trail. After cleverly gaining access to computer systems using an array of devious “exploits,” Stuxnet searches for and infects only a specific Siemens-made programmable logic controller (PLC) performing specific functions, the researchers found. Then – and this is the part just unearthed – it hunts for identification numbers unique to a special kind of “frequency converter drive” made by just two firms in the world: one headquartered in Finland, the other in Tehran.

Frequency converter drives are a kind of power supply that can change the frequency of its output to control the speed of a motor. The drive responds to a PLC’s computer commands and is used for industrial control in factory settings worldwide. Stuxnet hunts for specific drives set at specific speeds – the very high speeds a centrifuge must achieve to physically separate and concentrate uranium isotopes for use as nuclear fuel. Such fuel can then be used in a reactor or, if refined to far higher concentrations, a nuclear weapon. [Editor’s note: The original version misconstrued the nature of frequency converter drives.]

Symantec researchers were aided by a Dutch industrial control systems expert who revealed the connection with Tehran and Finland firms. It turns out that the special drives Stuxnet targets are built to operate “at very high speeds … speeds used only in a limited number of applications,” Symantec stated in a report update Nov. 12. Such drives are “regulated for export in the US by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” because one of their main uses is for uranium enrichment, it noted.

Once Stuxnet has locked its sights on the target, it alternately brings the centrifuge process to either a grinding slowdown or an explosive surge – by sabotaging the centrifuge refining process. It tells the commandeered PLC to force the frequency converter drive to do something it’s not ever supposed to do: Switch back and forth from high speed to low speed at intervals punctuated by long period of normal operation. It also occasionally pushes the centrifuge to far exceed its maximum speed.

“Stuxnet changes the output frequencies and thus the speed of the motors for short intervals over periods of months,” Symantec researcher Eric Chien reported Nov. 12 on his blog. “Interfering with the speed of the motors sabotages the normal operation of the industrial control process.”

Normal operating frequency of the special drive is supposed to be between 807 and 1210 Hz – the higher the hertz, the higher the speed. One hertz means that a cycle is repeated once per second.
Stuxnet “sabotages the system by slowing down or speeding up the motor to different rates at different times,” including sending it up to 1410 Hz, well beyond its intended maximum speed. Such wide swings would probably destroy the centrifuge – or at least wreck its ability to produce refined uranium fuel, others researchers say.

“One reasonable goal for the attack could be to destroy the centrifuge rotor by vibration, which causes the centrifuge to explode” as well as simply degrading the output subtly over time, Ralph Langner, the German researcher who first revealed Stuxnet’s function as a weapon in mid-September, wrote on his blog last week.

All of the circumstantial evidence points in the same direction: Natanz.

The Natanz nuclear centrifuge fuel-refining plant may have been hit first by Stuxnet in mid-2009, said Frank Rieger, a German researcher with Berlin encryption firm GSMK. The International Atomic Energy Agency found a sudden drop in the number of working centrifuges at the Natanz site, he noted in an interview in September.

“It seems like the parts of Stuxnet dealing with PLCs have been designed to work on multiple nodes at once – which makes it fit well with a centrifuge plant like Natanz,” Mr. Rieger says. By contrast, Bushehr is a big central facility with many disparate PLCs performing many different functions. Stuxnet seems focused on replicating its intrusion across a lot of identical units in a single plant, he said.
That and Symantec’s new findings also dovetail nicely with Mr. Langner’s detailed findings in his ongoing dissection of Stuxnet. Parts of the code show Stuxnet causing problems for short periods, then resuming undisturbed operation, Symantec’s findings show. As a result, Langner writes, “the victim, having no clue of being under a cyber attack, will replace broken centrifuges by new ones – until ending in frustration. It’s like a Chinese water torture.”

Ultimately, the Stuxnet cyber attack “is as good as using explosives,” Langner notes. Actually, it’s even better, he writes. Iran is believed to have other hidden centrifuge plants and “with a well designed attack plan, you even hit the unknown facilities.”

The Christian Science Monitor

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By Murad Karim

How we got here

Muslims generally already understand the difficulty of flying after 9-11.  We have to think 100 times before we fly, let alone take flying lessons.  We hear the words “randomly selected for additional security procedures” with astounding regularity at airports.  And unfortunately some of our co-religionists seem eager to destroy OUR lives by doing outrages and sticking the label “Islam” or “Jihad” on them.

And all this controversy has led us to the point where Backscatter X-rays which can see through clothing have been installed in many airports. 

Muslims won’t use the naked machines

For non-Muslims who read this, you should know that Islamically it has been (to my knowledge) universally agreed by scholars of different Muslim sectarian affiliations that backscatter is unacceptable to Muslims religiously.  What modesty is left when someone has a full naked picture of you? It’s not for nothing that Muslims wear a lot of clothes—modesty is a mark of our faith.  And this modesty is flaunted by a machine that sees through clothing. Therefore pious Muslims will overwhelmingly opt for the “pat-down” over the naked machine.  Which raises the question whether you still believe it is a good idea to have those machines—obviously they were aimed at Muslims.

Some have said that the backscatter x-rays do not actually show full images of people’s genitalia, but the reality is that all of the machines capture raw images that are perfectly accurate, of genitalia.  The only question is whether the machine then through software blurs or hides the genitalia in order to protect the modesty of the person under the microscope. 

Serious questions about the backscatter machines

Children, old people… in fact everyone… will be revealed fully naked under the backscatter machines.  Some have challenged the machines on the basis of child pornography laws.  Another issue is whether seeing hundreds of people of all different body types all day long will suck the morality out of whoever is assigned to the task.

Radiation

Pilots, who have everything to gain from enhanced security, are balking because aside from considerations of modesty—the machines have not been studied for their long term health effects and they do administer a small dose of radiation every time they are used.  Pilots routinely suffer more bombardment by radiation because of the height at which their airliners fly, so the added risk from backscatter could for them be a tipping point, pushing them into greater risk.

“Pat downs”

The chorus of non-Muslim complaints about the heavy handed genitalia groping that goes under the name “pat down” raises the question whether such a practice is viable long-term.  This also raises the question whether groping genitalia all day long will completely suck the morality out of a TSA employee assigned the task.  Inevitably there will be intentional sexual groping during pat downs, as the line between patting someone’s genitalia for air safety and patting someone’s genitalia for personal enjoyment is microscopically thin.  How will the government and TSA respond to such allegations?

Backscatter porn

Don’t believe those who say that the backscatter machines can’t be used to see a person’s normal image and naked image at the same time.  I have seen pornography based on airport backscatter scans.  The backscatter machines are designed to display a naked person to an operator in one room, not in direct eye contact with the actual subject of the scan—however a TSA employee with a video camera can easily pan back and forth between the clothed person and their naked image (which are of course in close proximity although not directly next to each other), thus defeating the backscatter machine’s policies designed to “protect” privacy despite the tremendous invasion of privacy that is the foundation of the machines’ effectiveness.  The video tape I saw was made by a TSA employee who held a video camera and walked back and forth between the backscatter video image and the place where the subject was undergoing the scan.  Not particularly titillating, but then again that actually in part depends on how attractive or famous or well known the backscattered person is.

Backscatter marriages

All of this raises the question whether it is possible to have mutually consensual pat downs.  For example, when you get to the airport you could choose from a variety of available TSA agents, marry the one you choose, and then undergo the pat down analysis before a quick divorce and the continuation of one’s journey.  There are legal implications here as well, of course—because many travellers have pre-existing romantic and marital relations which would be interfered with.  Polygamy becomes an issue.  Also unfortunately same-sex liaisons would likely be encouraged.  Other important issues are related, such as birth control, prostitution, and abortion.  I doubt that TSA employs enough attractive people to satisfy the millions of travelers, and any existing attractive TSA employees would of course be quickly inundated with pat down requests, which would likely prompt them to quit.  Perhaps we could have a red light district in each airport, where TSA employees are on display and travelers can choose their favorite pat-down specialist.  Or alternatively travelers could be on display, and TSA employees could pick. 

Potentially the new procedures will attract a whole new kind of employee to the TSA, attracted by the opportunity to grope hundreds of people per day, or to see hundreds naked every day.

Or maybe we should create an Islamic American airline for all Muslim travelers.  No pat downs, no x-ray machines, and hopefully no point in terrorism since the victims would be Muslim.  Of course the upside is that many non-Muslims would opt to travel with Muslims, thinking Muslims won’t blow each other up anyway—and some of them likely thinking it’s better to risk a hijacking than a prison sexual search administered by TSA guards.

Or maybe we should just get rid of airplanes altogether. 

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ–With close to 400 participants and 24 speakers, the second American Muslim Consumer Conference provided its participants with an entire day of informative sessions, networking opportunities and provided a base for understanding how to engage the American Muslim Consumer.

Miles Young, CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide was the keynote speaker highlighted the importance of Muslims in his speech – “Globally Muslims are a 1+ trillion market. We cannot ignore it. The values of Muslims needs to be embraced by brands: transparency, sincerity of intent, humility, modesty, etc.” He also highlighted areas where there is a significant gaps in Islamic branding – “For Muslims to be recognized they need to be strong in art and design. It does well to diffuse fear because art connects at an emotional level. Muslims today aren’t known for art of design. Brands are an emotional thing owned by the customer. Products are owned by the company that sell the emotion. Muslims need to understand that halaal is a brand ingredient, not a brand itself. We need to find a narrative and define the emotion, imagery and design that goes with it.”

The conference provided a wide platform for attendees from companies such as Ogilvy & Mather, BestBuy, PepsiCo, Saffron Road, Edible Arrangements, Western Union and several others, specifically in the Muslim space, such as IFANCA, Guidance, Dinar Standard, American Halal Association, Muxlim and many more.

Best Buy was also presented with honorary award based on its CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) effort for reaching out to diverse Americans and recognizing Eid Ul Adha during their marketing campaign in 2009. One of the most popular sessions of the day was the Entrepreneur Showcase, which gave 5 startup businesses the opportunity to present and interact with a panel which included Tariq Farid from Edible Arrangements and Adnan Durrani from Saffron Road, James Kocsi from the US Small Business Administration and Bami Bastani from B2 Business Consulting.

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University of Indonesia, Jakarta

White House Transcript

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and first lady Michelle Obama are led on a tour by Grand Imam Ali Mustafa Yaqub at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta November 10, 2010. REUTERS/Adek Berry/Pool

THE PRESIDENT:  Terima kasih.  Terima kasih, thank you so much, thank you, everybody.  Selamat pagi.  (Applause.)  It is wonderful to be here at the University of Indonesia.  To the faculty and the staff and the students, and to Dr. Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri, thank you so much for your hospitality.  (Applause.)

Assalamualaikum dan salam sejahtera.  Thank you for this wonderful welcome.  Thank you to the people of Jakarta and thank you to the people of Indonesia.

Pulang kampung nih.  (Applause.)  I am so glad that I made it back to Indonesia and that Michelle was able to join me.  We had a couple of false starts this year, but I was determined to visit a country that’s meant so much to me.  And unfortunately, this visit is too short, but I look forward to coming back a year from now when Indonesia hosts the East Asia Summit.  (Applause.)

Before I go any further, I want to say that our thoughts and prayers are with all of those Indonesians who are affected by the recent tsunami and the volcanic eruptions — particularly those who’ve lost loved ones, and those who’ve been displaced.  And I want you all to know that as always, the United States stands with Indonesia in responding to natural disasters, and we are pleased to be able to help as needed.  As neighbors help neighbors and families take in the displaced, I know that the strength and the resilience of the Indonesian people will pull you through once more. 

Let me begin with a simple statement:  Indonesia bagian dari didi saya.  (Applause.)  I first came to this country when my mother married an Indonesian named Lolo Soetoro.  And as a young boy I was — as a young boy I was coming to a different world.  But the people of Indonesia quickly made me feel at home.

Jakarta — now, Jakarta looked very different in those days.  The city was filled with buildings that were no more than a few stories tall.  This was back in 1967, ‘68 — most of you weren’t born yet.  (Laughter.)  The Hotel Indonesia was one of the few high rises, and there was just one big department store called Sarinah.  That was it.  (Applause.)  Betchaks and bemos, that’s how you got around.  They outnumbered automobiles in those days.  And you didn’t have all the big highways that you have today.  Most of them gave way to unpaved roads and the kampongs.

So we moved to Menteng Dalam, where — (applause) — hey, some folks from Menteng Dalam right here.  (Applause.)  And we lived in a small house.  We had a mango tree out front.  And I learned to love Indonesia while flying kites and running along the paddy fields and catching dragonflies, buying satay and baso from the street vendors.  (Applause.)  I still remember the call of the vendors.  Satay!  (Laughter.)  I remember that.  Baso!  (Laughter.)  But most of all, I remember the people — the old men and women who welcomed us with smiles; the children who made a foreign child feel like a neighbor and a friend; and the teachers who helped me learn about this country.

Because Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands, and hundreds of languages, and people from scores of regions and ethnic groups, my time here helped me appreciate the common humanity of all people.  And while my stepfather, like most Indonesians, was raised a Muslim, he firmly believed that all religions were worthy of respect.  And in this way — (applause) — in this way he reflected the spirit of religious tolerance that is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution, and that remains one of this country’s defining and inspiring characteristics.  (Applause.)

Now, I stayed here for four years — a time that helped shape my childhood; a time that saw the birth of my wonderful sister, Maya; a time that made such an impression on my mother that she kept returning to Indonesia over the next 20 years to live and to work and to travel — and to pursue her passion of promoting opportunity in Indonesia’s villages, especially opportunity for women and for girls.  And I was so honored — (applause) — I was so honored when President Yudhoyono last night at the state dinner presented an award on behalf of my mother, recognizing the work that she did.  And she would have been so proud, because my mother held Indonesia and its people very close to her heart for her entire life.  (Applause.)

So much has changed in the four decades since I boarded a plane to move back to Hawaii.  If you asked me — or any of my schoolmates who knew me back then — I don’t think any of us could have anticipated that one day I would come back to Jakarta as the President of the United States.  (Applause.)  And few could have anticipated the remarkable story of Indonesia over these last four decades.

The Jakarta that I once knew has grown into a teeming city of nearly 10 million, with skyscrapers that dwarf the Hotel Indonesia, and thriving centers of culture and of commerce.  While my Indonesian friends and I used to run in fields with water buffalo and goats — (laughter) — a new generation of Indonesians is among the most wired in the world — connected through cell phones and social networks. And while Indonesia as a young nation focused inward, a growing Indonesia now plays a key role in the Asia Pacific and in the global economy.  (Applause.)

Now, this change also extends to politics.  When my stepfather was a boy, he watched his own father and older brother leave home to fight and die in the struggle for Indonesian independence.  And I’m happy to be here on Heroes Day to honor the memory of so many Indonesians who have sacrificed on behalf of this great country.  (Applause.)  

When I moved to Jakarta, it was 1967, and it was a time that had followed great suffering and conflict in parts of this country.  And even though my stepfather had served in the Army, the violence and killing during that time of political upheaval was largely unknown to me because it was unspoken by my Indonesian family and friends.  In my household, like so many others across Indonesia, the memories of that time were an invisible presence.  Indonesians had their independence, but oftentimes they were afraid to speak their minds about issues.

In the years since then, Indonesia has charted its own course through an extraordinary democratic transformation — from the rule of an iron fist to the rule of the people.  In recent years, the world has watched with hope and admiration as Indonesians embraced the peaceful transfer of power and the direct election of leaders.  And just as your democracy is symbolized by your elected President and legislature, your democracy is sustained and fortified by its checks and balances:  a dynamic civil society; political parties and unions; a vibrant media and engaged citizens who have ensured that — in Indonesia — there will be no turning back from democracy.

But even as this land of my youth has changed in so many ways, those things that I learned to love about Indonesia — that spirit of tolerance that is written into your Constitution; symbolized in mosques and churches and temples standing alongside each other; that spirit that’s embodied in your people — that still lives on.  (Applause.)  Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — unity in diversity.  (Applause.)  This is the foundation of Indonesia’s example to the world, and this is why Indonesia will play such an important part in the 21st century.

So today, I return to Indonesia as a friend, but also as a President who seeks a deep and enduring partnership between our two countries.  (Applause.)  Because as vast and diverse countries; as neighbors on either side of the Pacific; and above all as democracies — the United States and Indonesia are bound together by shared interests and shared values.

Yesterday, President Yudhoyono and I announced a new Comprehensive Partnership between the United States and Indonesia.  We are increasing ties between our governments in many different areas, and — just as importantly — we are increasing ties among our people.  This is a partnership of equals, grounded in mutual interests and mutual respect.

So with the rest of my time today, I’d like to talk about why the story I just told — the story of Indonesia since the days when I lived here — is so important to the United States and to the world.  I will focus on three areas that are closely related, and fundamental to human progress — development, democracy and religious faith.

First, the friendship between the United States and Indonesia can advance our mutual interest in development.

When I moved to Indonesia, it would have been hard to imagine a future in which the prosperity of families in Chicago and Jakarta would be connected.  But our economies are now global, and Indonesians have experienced both the promise and the perils of globalization:  from the shock of the Asian financial crisis in the ‘90s, to the millions lifted out of poverty because of increased trade and commerce.  What that means — and what we learned in the recent economic crisis — is that we have a stake in each other’s success.

America has a stake in Indonesia growing and developing, with prosperity that is broadly shared among the Indonesian people — because a rising middle class here in Indonesia means new markets for our goods, just as America is a market for goods coming from Indonesia.  So we are investing more in Indonesia, and our exports have grown by nearly 50 percent, and we are opening doors for Americans and Indonesians to do business with one another.  

America has a stake in an Indonesia that plays its rightful role in shaping the global economy.  Gone are the days when seven or eight countries would come together to determine the direction of global markets.  That’s why the G20 is now the center of international economic cooperation, so that emerging economies like Indonesia have a greater voice and also bear greater responsibility for guiding the global economy.  And through its leadership of the G20’s anti-corruption group, Indonesia should lead on the world stage and by example in embracing transparency and accountability.  (Applause.)

America has a stake in an Indonesia that pursues sustainable development, because the way we grow will determine the quality of our lives and the health of our planet.  And that’s why we’re developing clean energy technologies that can power industry and preserve Indonesia’s precious natural resources — and America welcomes your country’s strong leadership in the global effort to combat climate change. 

Above all, America has a stake in the success of the Indonesian people.  Underneath the headlines of the day, we must build bridges between our people, because our future security and prosperity is shared.  And that is exactly what we’re doing — by increasing collaboration among our scientists and researchers, and by working together to foster entrepreneurship.  And I’m especially pleased that we have committed to double the number of American and Indonesian students studying in our respective countries.  (Applause.)  We want more Indonesian students in American schools, and we want more American students to come study in this country.  (Applause.)  We want to forge new ties and greater understanding between young people in this young century.

These are the issues that really matter in our daily lives.  Development, after all, is not simply about growth rates and numbers on a balance sheet.  It’s about whether a child can learn the skills they need to make it in a changing world.  It’s about whether a good idea is allowed to grow into a business, and not suffocated by corruption.  It’s about whether those forces that have transformed the Jakarta I once knew — technology and trade and the flow of people and goods — can translate into a better life for all Indonesians, for all human beings, a life marked by dignity and opportunity.
Now, this kind of development is inseparable from the role of democracy.

Today, we sometimes hear that democracy stands in the way of economic progress.  This is not a new argument.  Particularly in times of change and economic uncertainty, some will say that it is easier to take a shortcut to development by trading away the right of human beings for the power of the state.  But that’s not what I saw on my trip to India, and that is not what I see here in Indonesia.  Your achievements demonstrate that democracy and development reinforce one another. 

Like any democracy, you have known setbacks along the way.  America is no different.  Our own Constitution spoke of the effort to forge a “more perfect union,” and that is a journey that we’ve traveled ever since.  We’ve endured civil war and we struggled to extend equal rights to all of our citizens.  But it is precisely this effort that has allowed us to become stronger and more prosperous, while also becoming a more just and a more free society.

Like other countries that emerged from colonial rule in the last century, Indonesia struggled and sacrificed for the right to determine your destiny.  That is what Heroes Day is all about — an Indonesia that belongs to Indonesians.  But you also ultimately decided that freedom cannot mean replacing the strong hand of a colonizer with a strongman of your own.

Of course, democracy is messy.  Not everyone likes the results of every election.  You go through your ups and downs.  But the journey is worthwhile, and it goes beyond casting a ballot.  It takes strong institutions to check the power — the concentration of power.  It takes open markets to allow individuals to thrive.  It takes a free press and an independent justice system to root out abuses and excess, and to insist on accountability.  It takes open society and active citizens to reject inequality and injustice.

These are the forces that will propel Indonesia forward.  And it will require a refusal to tolerate the corruption that stands in the way of opportunity; a commitment to transparency that gives every Indonesian a stake in their government; and a belief that the freedom of Indonesians — that Indonesians have fought for is what holds this great nation together.

That is the message of the Indonesians who have advanced this democratic story — from those who fought in the Battle of Surabaya 55 years ago today; to the students who marched peacefully for democracy in the 1990s; to leaders who have embraced the peaceful transition of power in this young century.  Because ultimately, it will be the rights of citizens that will stitch together this remarkable Nusantara that stretches from Sabang to Merauke, an insistence — (applause) — an insistence that every child born in this country should be treated equally, whether they come from Java or Aceh; from Bali or Papua.  (Applause.)  That all Indonesians have equal rights.

That effort extends to the example that Indonesia is now setting abroad.  Indonesia took the initiative to establish the Bali Democracy Forum, an open forum for countries to share their experiences and best practices in fostering democracy.  Indonesia has also been at the forefront of pushing for more attention to human rights within ASEAN.  The nations of Southeast Asia must have the right to determine their own destiny, and the United States will strongly support that right.  But the people of Southeast Asia must have the right to determine their own destiny as well.  And that’s why we condemned elections in Burma recently that were neither free nor fair.  That is why we are supporting your vibrant civil society in working with counterparts across this region.  Because there’s no reason why respect for human rights should stop at the border of any country.

Hand in hand, that is what development and democracy are about — the notion that certain values are universal.  Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty.  Because there are aspirations that human beings share — the liberty of knowing that your leader is accountable to you, and that you won’t be locked up for disagreeing with them; the opportunity to get an education and to be able to work with dignity; the freedom to practice your faith without fear or restriction.  Those are universal values that must be observed everywhere.

Now, religion is the final topic that I want to address today, and — like democracy and development — it is fundamental to the Indonesian story.

Like the other Asian nations that I’m visiting on this trip, Indonesia is steeped in spirituality — a place where people worship God in many different ways.  Along with this rich diversity, it is also home to the world’s largest Muslim population — a truth I came to know as a boy when I heard the call to prayer across Jakarta.

Just as individuals are not defined solely by their faith, Indonesia is defined by more than its Muslim population.  But we also know that relations between the United States and Muslim communities have frayed over many years.  As President, I have made it a priority to begin to repair these relations.  (Applause.)  As part of that effort, I went to Cairo last June, and I called for a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world — one that creates a path for us to move beyond our differences.

I said then, and I will repeat now, that no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust.  But I believed then, and I believe today, that we do have a choice.  We can choose to be defined by our differences, and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust.  Or we can choose to do the hard work of forging common ground, and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress.  And I can promise you — no matter what setbacks may come, the United States is committed to human progress.  That is who we are.  That is what we’ve done.  And that is what we will do.  (Applause.)

Now, we know well the issues that have caused tensions for many years — and these are issues that I addressed in Cairo.  In the 17 months that have passed since that speech, we have made some progress, but we have much more work to do.

Innocent civilians in America, in Indonesia and across the world are still targeted by violent extremism.  I made clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam.  Instead, all of us must work together to defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion –– certainly not a great, world religion like Islam.  But those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy.  And this is not a task for America alone.  Indeed, here in Indonesia, you’ve made progress in rooting out extremists and combating such violence.

In Afghanistan, we continue to work with a coalition of nations to build the capacity of the Afghan government to secure its future.  Our shared interest is in building peace in a war-torn land — a peace that provides no safe haven for violent extremists, and that provide hope for the Afghan people.

Meanwhile, we’ve made progress on one of our core commitments — our effort to end the war in Iraq.  Nearly 100,000 American troops have now left Iraq under my presidency.  (Applause.)  Iraqis have taken full responsibility for their security.  And we will continue to support Iraq as it forms an inclusive government, and we will bring all of our troops home.

In the Middle East, we have faced false starts and setbacks, but we’ve been persistent in our pursuit of peace.  Israelis and Palestinians restarted direct talks, but enormous obstacles remain.  There should be no illusion that peace and security will come easy.  But let there be no doubt:  America will spare no effort in working for the outcome that is just, and that is in the interests of all the parties involved — two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security.  That is our goal.  (Applause.)

The stakes are high in resolving all of these issues.  For our world has grown smaller, and while those forces that connect us have unleashed opportunity and great wealth, they also empower those who seek to derail progress.  One bomb in a marketplace can obliterate the bustle of daily commerce.  One whispered rumor can obscure the truth and set off violence between communities that once lived together in peace.  In an age of rapid change and colliding cultures, what we share as human beings can sometimes be lost.

But I believe that the history of both America and Indonesia should give us hope.  It is a story written into our national mottos.  In the United States, our motto is E pluribus unum — out of many, one.  Bhinneka Tunggal Ika — unity in diversity.  (Applause.)  We are two nations, which have traveled different paths.  Yet our nations show that hundreds of millions who hold different beliefs can be united in freedom under one flag.  And we are now building on that shared humanity — through young people who will study in each other’s schools; through the entrepreneurs forging ties that can lead to greater prosperity; and through our embrace of fundamental democratic values and human aspirations.

Before I came here, I visited Istiqlal mosque — a place of worship that was still under construction when I lived in Jakarta.  And I admired its soaring minaret and its imposing dome and welcoming space.  But its name and history also speak to what makes Indonesia great.  Istiqlal means independence, and its construction was in part a testament to the nation’s struggle for freedom.  Moreover, this house of worship for many thousands of Muslims was designed by a Christian architect.  (Applause.)

Such is Indonesia’s spirit.  Such is the message of Indonesia’s inclusive philosophy, Pancasila.  (Applause.)  Across an archipelago that contains some of God’s most beautiful creations, islands rising above an ocean named for peace, people choose to worship God as they please.  Islam flourishes, but so do other faiths.  Development is strengthened by an emerging democracy.  Ancient traditions endure, even as a rising power is on the move.

That is not to say that Indonesia is without imperfections.  No country is.  But here we can find the ability to bridge divides of race and region and religion — by the ability to see yourself in other people.  As a child of a different race who came here from a distant country, I found this spirit in the greeting that I received upon moving here:  Selamat Datang.  As a Christian visiting a mosque on this visit, I found it in the words of a leader who was asked about my visit and said, “Muslims are also allowed in churches.  We are all God’s followers.”

That spark of the divine lives within each of us.  We cannot give in to doubt or cynicism or despair.  The stories of Indonesia and America should make us optimistic, because it tells us that history is on the side of human progress; that unity is more powerful than division; and that the people of this world can live together in peace.  May our two nations, working together, with faith and determination, share these truths with all mankind.

Sebagai penutup, saya mengucapkan kepada seluruh rakyat Indonesia:  terima kasih atas.  Terima kasih.  Assalamualaikum.  Thank you.

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By Susan Schwartz, MMNS

The beleaguered nation of Gaza has become an international symbol of resistance as it struggles under the boot of Israeli occupation and siege. Its residents are admired by humanitarians for their courage and determination. Many individuals and organizations have provided aid to Gaza, and many have worked to communicate to the world the plight of Gaza and of Palestinians everywhere.
One such person is Haneen Zoabi, a member of the Israeli Knesset and a survivor of the Mavi Marmara. Ms Zoabi witnessed the massacre that took place on that ship and watched some of the severely wounded bleed to death. She has been the object of death threats and has been threatened with punishment by Knesset members for her humanitarian work. Ms Zoabi established the first media course in 1948 occupied Palestinian schools.

Haneen Zoabi spoke to an overflow audience in La Mirada, Ca. this past weekend under the sponsorship of the Palestine American Women’s Association (PAWA). She was introduced by Muna Coobtee who represented PAWA and stood at the podium before a banner which read: “A Salute to our Heroes in Gaza”.

First Ms Zoabi thanked her audience for the standing ovation and observed that the atmosphere here was so much warmer for her than the Knesset. She addressed herself to Israel’s treatment of its indigenous Palestinians who account for approximately 18% of the population. “We call ourselves the Palestinians of ‘48”. These Palestinians are often overlooked as Israel claims that they enjoy equal rights with Jewish Israelis. This portrayal of Israel as a classic democracy – the only democracy in the Middle East – is false.

There is judicial and political discrimination that Palestinians have to contend with, she continued. She reminded her audience that the Palestinian issue did not begin in 1967. Israeli Palestinians are part of the problem and must struggle within their citizenship. The United States has a responsibility to support the Palestinian struggle.

Israel has “confiscated our land and destroyed our cities”. In Israeli Palestinians are under represented in both the public and private sector but are over represented under the poverty level and as a percentage of the prison population.

Ms Zoabi accused Israel of preventing Palestinians from developing their economy and intentionally creating a weak state. Israel does not permit teaching of the Nakba in schools. “We are not permitted our own feelings”. She said that after Oslo Palestinians refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Ms Zoabi argued that Israel does not need peace. It needs negotiations to give the illusion that it wants peace.

She urged her audience to take action. Ms Zoabi also spoke of the success of the international BDS (Boycott, Divest and Sanction) program aimed at Israel. She urged her audience to continue their work with BDS.

While Ms Zoabi’s English is excellent, she at times had to search for a word. When she spoke the Arabic word to her audience, they responded with help This gave the entire gathering a friendly, almost family like ambiance.

“What a brave woman she is” said a young girl of perhaps student age in the audience.

A lively question and answer session followed. Ms Zoabi received a prolonged standing ovation when her speech was completed.

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By Geoffrey Cook, MMNS

Berkeley–Two weeks ago your reporter relayed the interview of the Beirut-based British expat commentator, Robert Fisk, produced by the Middle Eastern Children’s Alliance (MECA) here.   This organization provides relief to children in Gaza, the West Bank and Iraq.  Hatem Bazian of U.C. Berkeley and the new Islamic college, Zaytuna, here was the chief inquisitor.  The Observer passively took notes.

The story your narrator brought to you a fortnight ago was only half the commentary.  The rest your chronicler shall convey today.  The first half of the interview dealt mainly with the Arab-Israeli struggle.  The second half will deal with our subject’s musings over the rest of the Middle East.

Fisk thought that “Americans have a pretty good concept of the Middle East, but their [our] government doesn’t.”   After the First World War the British and French chopped up what might be called Greater Arabia, a section of the former Ottoman Imperial State.  If the Americans had a stronger policy ninety years ago, the Arabs might be united today!

Fisk claims that many – if not most – reporters are honest and as accurate as they can be, but “All journalists want to be Marines, and all Marines want to be journalists.”  When a correspondent is “embedded” within the Army to portray the War, they become part of that “Empire” who commissions them.

The United States believes Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of the Middle East for strategic reasons to Washington.   To London and New Delhi (who have benefitted greatly from the recent situation in Kabul by “surrounding” their old enemy, Islamabad) is a section of South Asia.  Almost all of the area has historical roots in the Hindu Kush, for all but one wave of peoples (the British) had to move through the Khyber to the (now) Indo-Pakistani plains below, and in so doing had gained much of their cultural heritage from the Mountains – including Islam.  The Russians have felt that Afghanistan was part of Central Asia, and, after the 1989 demise of the Soviet Empire, Pakistan and Afghanistan are becoming much closer to the region’s former Tsarist Colonial holdings left over from the Nineteenth Century because of their commonalities in religion (Islam) and civilization.

Fisk declared, “I don’t presume that there will be a Battle for Kandahar” as (U.S.) General David Petraeus predicts.  Whatever, Dr. Fisk is of the opinion that the (American) military should not have a say in the formation of foreign policy (there or anywhere else).   Although the Chinese challenge for influence in the Middle East (as in Africa – again to capture the majority of known reserves of liquid fossil fuel) – is a very dangerous development for the geographical expanse and, also, for the West.  Of course, Israel under the present political regime(s) is the severe acerbating wound within the zone of Islam’s birth.

Yet, Mr. Robert Fisk’s conclusive question – curiously reversing the role inquisitor — was what will happen if we leave, though?

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By Roger Cohen

Halifax, Canada — The guy was sitting in the gloomy atrium of a hotel in Tampa, Florida. It was early morning, the plants were drooping and the lights mysteriously low — some kind of economy measure, perhaps. Anyway, he couldn’t see any of that. He was blind. And he had no right leg below the knee.

Terrible burns disfigured his arms and face. The right side of his head was concave, as if depressed by a savage blow. I tried to imagine the explosive force that had twisted his frame: a bomb in Iraq or an improvised explosive device near Kandahar, Afghanistan? There’s a big veterans’ hospital in Tampa.

I tried to imagine something else: how, by what medical ingenuity, this young man’s life had been saved; and how many thousands of other terribly injured Americans have survived the country’s 21st-century wars who would not have survived its 20th-century conflicts — and what toll this will take on the nation, over what period and in what form. Every so often America’s wounds are rendered raw; the faraway wars come home.

More often the hurt is like a dull ache. An employee of the University of South Florida drove me out to the airport. She told tales of middle-aged people out of work for two years, their houses underwater: casualties, these Florida folk, of the easy-credit binge that was the other face of a war-and-shop U.S. decade.

The usual airport scene: much-traveled pros huffing at the dilatory amateurs, harried people removing shoes and belts and laptops, sparring over trays like irritable kids, getting all the stuff lined up with production-line precision — only to find themselves thrust into one of the new full-body scanners that delivers an image of passengers in a state of near nakedness to some security official who, at whim, may order a repeat of the arms-raised, all-revealing little humiliation.

Philip Roth’s “indigenous American berserk” has gone into overdrive. It’s the new normal.

Is this right and forever? Security has become an all-devouring American god stiffened by righteousness, stripped of judgment, armed with technology. This deity knows no bounds, brooks no dissent. The threats are real — witness the cargo-plane bomb plot — but the right balance between security and freedom has been lost. I’m with Martin Broughton, the British Airways chairman who said recently that some security checks were “completely redundant.”

How immense is the hidden subsidy handed to America’s competitors by all this fear, with its trade-slowing, openness-defeating expressions? No doubt they could turn the lights up at that Tampa hotel if fear was turned down. Perhaps some unemployed 40-something people might find a job if goods weren’t being held up at the Canadian border.

I was headed to Halifax. Nova Scotians have the reputation of being the nicest of Canada’s nice people. I got proof of that when my flight was diverted to Prince Edward Island and a passenger from Canada’s forestry department rented a car and drove four of us for several hours through howling wind and rain to Halifax. This is not some Michael-Moore like paean to Canada, but still.
Several U.S. senators had gathered at the Halifax International Security Forum, an annual gathering that is the brainchild of Peter MacKay, Canada’s defense minister. One of them, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, immediately put President Obama on notice.

Resurgent Republicans would be looking for him to “be tough with Iran beyond sanctions.” If it came to war, the United States should “sink their navy, destroy their air force and deliver a decisive blow to the Revolutionary Guard, in other words neuter that regime.”

Sure, Graham conceded, “you can expect, for a period of time, all hell to break loose.” Another war is the “last thing America wants.” But a nuclear-armed Iran was unacceptable and containment “off the table.”

This is dangerous talk from an influential Republican who sits on the Armed Services Committee. The United States, in its current depleted state, cannot afford another war in a Muslim country. It cannot find itself fighting across a 2,000-mile front stretching through Arab, Persian and Central Asian worlds. You could forget about the tenuous progress in Iraq and Afghanistan, where Iran can flick switches. From Lebanon to Gaza, on Israel’s borders, tensions would boil.

But Graham’s words were instructive. The pressure on Obama from Congress is going to grow. David Broder of the Washington Post even suggested recently that a war in Iran might spur the U.S. economy, just as World War II did.

The United States does not need the stimulus package from hell. This is a moment of great American uncertainty, a volatile passage. Sunni Pakistan has nukes and Al Qaeda. Shiite Iran has neither. It would be tragic to ignore the lessons of Iraq, stumble onto a war train armed with flimsy evidence, and imagine Iran is close to a bomb when there’s no conclusive evidence it’s made the decision to build one. Remember, the mullahs love ambiguity. It’s their element, along with maddening inertia. To risk “breakout” is to risk the Islamic Republic. Hence the waiting-for-godot aspects of their nuclear zigzag.

When I heard those words — “neuter that regime” — what I saw was a shattered body in Tampa. A third U.S war is inconceivable.

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