Jakarta, NU Online
Sometimes a phrase can be much more than just words and can find its way into everyday use in all aspects of life.

This holds true with the Indonesian saying ‘from tragedy to opportunity’ as the nation overcame obstacles faced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to come out on the other side as a well respected ‘middle ground’ society.

“Immediately following 9/11 we had a major challenge because (then US president) Bush took US foreign policy in a very different trajectory by entering Iraq without UN support and declaring a global war on terrorism that seemed to target Muslim societies,” recalled Dewi Fortuna Anwar, the Vice President’s special advisor on foreign affairs, of the early days after the attack.

This rough start to the new millennium included growing concerns about what the future would hold as the US embarked on a war in Iraq with implications that reached across traditional state borders and threatened to touch upon religious entities in what some thought could turn into an East vs. West conflict.

“We were worried that the US attack on Iraq would be seen by our population as an attack on Islam, and more dangerously it would be seen as a war between Muslims and Christians” added then foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda.

Due largely to successful diplomacy, including a visit by former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to Washington, the first Muslim leader to do so after 9/11, echoing the good wishes of a nation at a time of tragedy and the pursuit of a new foreign policy, Indonesia strove to minimize the collateral damage from the tragic events of 2001.

“Before 9/11 Islam was not seen as an asset in Indonesian foreign policy, but after the events Indonesia’s moderate Muslim identity, its thriving democracy and economic openness to the outside world fused into a total package in its foreign policy projections,” Dewi said.

Former ambassador to the United States, Soemadi Brotodiningrat, stated that Indonesia’s position combined condemnation of the unacceptable events, solidarity with the victims and the message that there was no strong link between extremists and Indonesia.

After the 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks, misconceptions arose about whether it was even possible to link the concepts of Islam and democracy.

Experts agree that 10 years later, Indonesia is a shining model that proudly shows that both Islam and democracy can coexist.

“Indonesia is living proof that there is no problem in the relationship between democracy and Islam,” remarked Dewi, adding that, in fact, “Most of the political parties in Indonesia that are fighting for democratic political systems are made up of Muslim politicians.”

A 2010 Freedom House study revealed that the only two countries in the world with a Muslim majority and a fully functioning democracy were Indonesia and Mali.

“Indonesia has striven to show through real examples that the possibility of a harmonious relationship between state and religion is, in fact, possible in a majority Muslim country” pointed out Amris Hasan, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia. (dar)