Islam nervous over fallout from US reply

By EUGENE BINGHAM and AGENCIES

Smack on the doorstep of the Pacific, the world's biggest Muslim nation is bracing itself for the United States to strike back at Islamic fundamentalists.

Indonesia has reacted to last week's terrorist attacks by offering sympathy over the thousands of deaths, but also warning Washington to be measured in its response.

Academics and officials said yesterday the looming US blitz was presenting a political problem for Indonesia's leaders and could enrage extremists within the population of 200 million.

It is a problem for dozens of Muslim countries who have pleaded for President George W. Bush to avoid turning the tragedy into a stand-off between the West and the wider Islamic world.

Dr Greg Fealy, an Australian National University research fellow who has studied radical Islamic groups within Indonesia, said yesterday some small groups on the fringes did not share the West's "unalloyed outrage" at what had happened.

"I don't think they would applaud this act of terrorism but they would say Osama bin Laden has done a lot of good for Islam," Dr Fealy said. "There's a sense that America has brought this upon itself."

Indonesia's Vice-President, Hamzah Haz, said: "Hopefully, the tragedy can cleanse the sins by the US. We are concerned by, regret and condemn the terrorism against the United States. But we are asking the US not to make Islam a scapegoat."

US media have claimed that Indonesia has become a base for bin Laden, accused of masterminding last week's hijackings that led to thousands of deaths in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

The Los Angeles Times said official sources believed bin Laden sympathisers in Jakarta were plotting another attack.

Dr Fealy said he was sceptical about the claims, though he was aware of militant groups such as Laskar Jihad, which was known for its extremist views. But even these groups had been measured since the attacks last week, he said.

Elsewhere in the Muslim world, America has found allies in unexpected quarters.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, a long-time foe of Washington, said the United States had the right to seek revenge, but he urged caution.

"We are now in a phase of anger, of hysteria, which is understandable because the world's biggest country has been hit.

"But we must think ahead. A small child has attacked a giant. It would be a disaster if the giant were to behave like the small child," Colonel Gaddafi said.

"The United States has the right to seek revenge. The United States is a strong and powerful country, but would it be bravery to attack Afghanistan? ... Would that solve the problem?"

Calling for all Libyans to donate blood for the terrorist victims, Colonel Gaddafi said the world should unite against terrorism.

"We must convene an international conference to study the roots of terrorism and reach a consensus on the definition of terrorism, because, for instance, Israelis accuse Palestinians of terrorism and vice-versa."

Jordon's King Abdullah II said yesterday Arab countries would support the global fight against terrorism, but added the best way to do that was to find a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict.

"The fight against terrorism is an international duty which requires everyone to pull together," said King Abdullah.

Not all Jordanians agreed. The religious council of Jordan's main Islamist opposition group, the Islamic Action Front, issued a religious decree forbidding Muslims from joining any US-led coalition.

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