Indonesians neither hate nor love Americans

Endy Bayuni
endy@thejakartapost.com

2004 Nieman fellow; deputy chief editor, The Jakarta Post.

Scholars and journalists writing about anti-Americanism in the wake of 9/11 would most likely be lured into Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population. But be warned: they would most likely be disappointed with what they find or hear in the streets when they get there.

They would find that the population is largely indifferent towards America, about its military adventures in Iraq and about its war against terrorism. They would most likely know that George W. Bush is the current president of the United States, but they neither like nor dislike him. But ask about American icons, from Coca Cola, McDonald, to Hollywood movies and stars, the scholars and journalists would learn that Indonesians generally love American pop culture. And they would soon learn that Indonesians are just as passionate about democracy and freedom as Americans are.

Why the indifference towards America? Indonesians suffer from the same syndrome that people from large countries usually have: Self-centered and could not care less about what is happening outside their national borders. As islanders, they could not care less about what happened outside their islands. Given the pervasive poverty in the country, most people are too concerned about finding food on the table anyway to think about their feelings towards America. 

There is so much going on at home in a country as large as this – Indonesia has been going through one crisis after another since the financial debacle of 1997 – that most people have little time to think about what happens to other countries. The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the invasion of Iraq sure attracted a lot of attention, but not enough for them to hate or love America that much. And on the war on terror, Indonesia has been at the receiving end of these attacks, so few people today question about the U.S.-led war on terror.

The scholars and journalists assigned to write about anti-Americanism in Indonesia will find what they are looking for if they look hard enough, like talking to the radical Muslims groups or visiting the few Muslim boarding schools that have been the hotbeds of anti-American activities. But they are a few and don't really represent the sentiments of the majority.

The majority of Muslims in Indonesia are moderate and tolerant of other beliefs, and since they have had a brush with democracy, they love their freedoms. The radical views are the exceptions to the rule. The Pew survey of global attitudes towards America reflects the volatility of Indonesians' sentiments towards America. The percentage of people with favorable view of Americans, according to that survey, swung sharply, from 75 percent in 1999, 61 percent in 2002, down to 15 percent in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq. There was a rebound, but only to 38 percent, in 2005. This indicates that such sentiments are not deep-seated, but rather reactions to events. Bottom line: Most people don't care about America enough to either love or hate it.

Comments

Jump to bottom of list