Yesterday Indonesia was swept up in Obama fever as the US President returned to the country where he lived for four years as a child. Obama spent 18 and a half hours in Jakarta, squeezing a drop-in between visits to New Delhi and Seoul.
The President was originally slated to visit Indonesia in March but canceled due to issues at the home front (the whole health reform package thing) and then again in June (there was that small, inconsequential dollop of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico).
At the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, Obama spoke to a crowd of around 6000 people and gave what some have described as the most important Asian speech of his presidency, beginning with the words “Indonesia is a part of me.” He reached out to the Muslim world, encouraging them to join the US in the fight against terrorism and al-Qa’ida.
“America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam,” Obama said. “Instead, all of us must defeat al-Qa’ida and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion, certainly not a great world religion like Islam.”
Like every decent international tour, Obama’s visit to Indonesia came with a smidgen of controversy involving — naturally — a gay transvestite nanny. To read about that you’ll have to scroll to the bottom.
Here’s a look at how the visit was reported internationally:
The Australian
Greg Sheridan: Leader finally reaches Muslims
Barack Obama was at his very best in his speech in Jakarta.
He had a clear message to Indonesia and a clear message to Muslims everywhere.
The message to Indonesia was that, despite cultural differences, the US and Indonesia are natural partners in democracy and development.
Peter Alford and Amanda Hodge: The homecoming king
Barack Obama’s door-to-door salesman tour of Asia has yielded mixed results.
More than any other contemporary statesman, Barack Obama believes in the power of oratory and yesterday he proved the point with the most important Asian speech of his presidency.
Peter Alford: Barack Obama reaches out to Islam
Declaring that “Indonesia is part of me”, Mr Obama challenged the nation to take a G20 leadership role by “embracing transparency and accountability” and held it up as the model for tolerant, democratic majority-Muslim nations.
The Guardian
Ewen MacAskill and Toni O’Loughlin: Barack Obama in Indonesia appeals for Muslim-Christian tolerance
Barack Obama was in wistful mood today on his return to Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood. He reminisced about mango trees, flying kites, running alongside paddy fields, buying satay from street vendors and catching dragonflies.
Christian Science Monitor
Sara Schonhardt: Obama returns to Indonesia, and for some that’s all that mattered
The tinkling of a traditional Indonesian gamelan orchestra filled the air as President Obama and around 200 guests sat down to a dinner of his favorite Indonesian dishes – fried rice and meatball soup called bakso.
Financial Times
Still seeking that new way forward
Barack Obama’s speech in Jakarta on Wednesday was the US president’s third address from a Muslim capital to the Islamic world. He reiterated two important messages: that the US is not at war with Islam, and that democracy and the Koran are not incompatible.
The Daily Mail
‘Barry’ Obama’s childhood with transvestite gay nanny revealed by visit to Indonesia
President Barrack Obama’s visit to Indonesia this week has revealed the kind of painfully embarrassing childhood details many of us hope to forget.
It might undermine his credibility a little to have it known that he was called ‘Barry’ in his youth.
He may be a little embarrassed to be reminded that his neighbour, Mrs Satjakoesoemah, referred to him as the ‘boy who runs like a duck.’
I don’t see the point of saying, “democracy and the Koran are not incompatible.” Islam never had–at least not until 1979–any of the history of religious totalitarianism that oppressed the Christian world for a thousand years (and which drove us to develop political ideas like a separate church and state). The development of Islamic law has always followed a process similar to academia, in contrast to the top-down command structure of the Roman church. No Caliph ever had Pope-like powers. Libya’s “Jamahiriya” system of direct democracy, though perhaps honoured more in the breach than in the observance due to the personality of Ghaddafi, at least shows there’s nothing un-Islamic about democracy. To argue that they’re “not incompatible” is to imply that it’s a controversial idea and open to serious doubt.
FREECOUNTRY: On the whole I agree with your comments. And, as you know, I am no lover of religion at all. Therefore no point scoring. Whoever it was who declared Islam to be incompatible with the Koran was possibly going on the fact that the Koran preaches that it immoral to lend money at interest. And any Muslim who returns your wallet when you’ve left it somewhere in a taxi, will do it not because it is the honest thing to do. It is his religion which tells him to do so.
Many of their Imans are illiterate. And not the ideal person to preach correct behaviour.
The Koran teaches the rightness of going to war. And preaches getting converts as a primary objective.
The greatest failing of Islam. Is that the religion never had a Reformation. Nor did they have a Renaissance. And don’t lecture me about Islamic art-it is incandescent.
The Koran’s strictures on sexuality and women are even more laughable than those of Christianity and help to explain the hatred of their male youth who, taken as volunteers, are taught to revile their females so badly that majority of the suicide-bombers wer/are virgins. To say this attitude lacks balance and maturity is the understatement of the past five thousand years.
I have had nothing but unadulterated and kindness and joy throughout my travels in the Middle East and in South East Asia. I feel protected and safe in these countries to an extent I have never felt in Australia. But I thought it was necessary to state the above points about the Koran.
My thoughts about Christianity are unprintable.
2.
FREECOUNTRY: On the whole I agree with your comments. And, as you know, I am no lover of religion at all. Therefore I’m not point scoring. Whoever it was who declared Democracy to be incompatible with the Koran was possibly going on the fact that the Koran teaches that it immoral to lend money at interest. And any Muslim who returns your wallet when you’ve left it somewhere in a taxi, will do it not because it is the honest thing to do. It is his religion which tells him to do so.
Many of their Imans are illiterate. And therefore not the ideal person to teach what is written in the Koran. Many of them are merely good at hating the West.
The Koran teaches the rightness of going to war. And preaches getting converts by this means as a primary objective.
The greatest failing of Islam. Is that the religion never had a Reformation. Nor did they have a Renaissance. And don’t lecture me about Islamic art, calligraphy, and architecture, they can be incandescent in their beauty.
The Koran’s strictures on sexuality and women are even more laughable than those of Christianity and help to explain the hatred of their youthful male Jihadists who, taken as volunteers, are taught to revile all females, including their mothers and their sisters of their families, so badly that majority of the suicide-bombers were/are virgins. To say this attitude lacks balance and maturity is the understatement of the past five thousand years.
Throughout my travels in Iran, Syria, Jordan, Malaysia and Indonesia I have had nothing but unadulterated kindness and joy. I feel protected and safe in these countries to an extent I have never felt in Australia. But I thought it was necessary to state the above points about the Koran.
My thoughts about Christianity, and Orthodox Jewery, are unprintable.
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2.
FREECOUNTRY: On the whole I agree with your comments. And, as you know, I am no lover of religion at all. Therefore I’m not point scoring. Whoever it was who declared Democracy to be incompatible with the Koran was possibly going on the fact that the Koran teaches that it immoral to lend money at interest. And any Muslim who returns your wallet when you’ve left it somewhere in a taxi, will do it not because it is the honest thing to do. It is his religion which tells him to do so.
Many of their Imans are illiterate. And therefore not the ideal person to teach what is written in the Koran. Many of them are merely good at hating the West.
The Koran teaches the rightness of going to war. And preaches getting converts by this means as a primary objective.
The greatest failing of Islam. Is that the religion never had a Reformation. Nor did they have a Renaissance. And don’t lecture me about Islamic art, calligraphy, and architecture, they can be incandescent in their beauty.
The Koran’s strictures on sexuality and women are even more laughable than those of Christianity and help to explain the hatred of their youthful male Jihadists who, taken as volunteers, are taught to revile all females, including their mothers and their sisters of their families, so badly that majority of the suicide-bombers were/are virgins. To say this attitude lacks balance and maturity is the understatement of the past five thousand years.
Throughout my travels in Iran, Syria, Jordan, Malaysia and Indonesia I have had nothing but unadulterated kindness and joy. I feel protected and safe in these countries to an extent I have never felt in Australia. But I thought it was necessary to state the above points about the Koran.
My thoughts about Christianity, and Orthodox, a word starting with a ‘J’ has six letters and ends with ‘Y’.
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Last line should have read…..’Are unprintable’.
Such are the vicissitudes of censorship.