10-22-2003, 08:27 PM
I am presenting two news reports: one, of Pres. Bush's visit to Hindu Bali; the second, of Muslim News report on the request from Governor of Bali to promote Hindu culture in Bali.
Here is an opportunity which should be seized to promote Hindu-Indonesia relationships which were very strong for a millennium between 8th and 18th centuries. Jakarta has the most magnificent edifice of Gitopades'am sculpture adoring the centre of the capital city. Indonesia has a 20,000 rupiah note which shows Vinayaka. A Garuda-Vishnu dhvaja stambha is being built in Jakarta, which will be a spiritual marvel.
The response of 'secular' Min. of External Affairs of Bharat, that is Indis is indeed shocking and shows the state of affairs in Bharat created by the Marxist, pseudo-secular mind-set.
When there is an opportunity to build up the traditions in Indonesia where Mahabharata and Ramayana episodes are still taught to school children and celebrated in theatrical shows adored by millions of Indonesians, Bharat also can learn from Indonesia on how to introduce Dharma in educational system and in the cultural affairs of a nation.
Bali is representative of the Hindu states of South-east Asia. There is a magnificent book by George Coedes titled Indianized States of Southeast Asia which is replete with Sanskrit inscriptions between 8th and 18th centuries in the region. Cambodia has the largest Hindu temple in the world: Angkor Wat (Nagara Va_t.ika). Every Cambodian family has a temple in every house and every Cambodian venerates the values of Hindu Dharma. Ayodhya is the second capital city of Thailand which has a King whose princess daughter is a Sanskrit scholar. Tiruppavai, Tiruvembavai are sung in Thailand during the King's coronation.
Now is the time to launch an Indian Ocean Academy to intensify people and scholar exchanges among Bharat and Asian States promoting Dharma-Dhamma. Bharatiyas should donate a jagannath ratha to Cambodia to celebrate a car-festival in Angkor Wat. Bharatiyas should send priests to train the local devotees in the Asian countries to perform puja-s according to a_gama-s..
Kalyanaraman
Bush, in Bali, Listens to Leaders' Complaints
By JANE PERLEZ
Published: October 22, 2003
ENPASAR, Indonesia, Oct. 22 â President Bush made a three-hour visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation today, a visit that was restricted for security reasons to Bali, the Hindu part of the country, and just to the airport area of the resort island.
The president is unpopular in Indonesia, but his appearance was mandated by what planners of the stopover called his desire to visit his firm ally, Australia, at the end of his Asian tour, and the political embarrassment that would be caused by flying over a moderate Muslim nation on his way south.
In a session intended to show that Mr. Bush was in a listening mode, the president heard complaints about his foreign policy from three Indonesian Muslim leaders selected by the White House for their moderate views.
Indonesia's most popular Muslim television preacher, Abdullah Gymanstiar, who has been embraced by the American Embassy in Indonesia as the model of a moderate Islamic leader, refused an invitation to meet Mr. Bush, calling him a man without compassion.
After the encounter with the president, Hasyim Muzadi, the chairman of the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, with an estimated membership of 40 million, said he told Mr. Bush that his Middle East policy unfairly favored Israel.
He asked the president when American troops would leave Iraq to the Iraqis and told Mr. Bush, he said, that the United States should stop seeing Indonesia as a "terrorist's nest because Indonesia is a terror victim."
Mr. Bush tried to make the best out of what many Indonesians seemed to regard as an awkward visit, saying in a short speech that the United States and Indonesia held some common values: religious diversity and respect for liberty.
"Americans hold a deep respect for the Islamic faith which is professed by a growing number of my own citizens," Mr. Bush said. "We know Islam is fully compatible with liberty, tolerance and progress. We see the proof in your country."
Mr. Bush spoke from a thatched-roof pagoda, especially crafted for the occasion to give him and the Indonesian leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri, a Balinese context even though they were on the edge of the island's international airport.
American officials had deliberated for days over the exact spot for the pagoda so that the cameras would capture a photo-perfect backdrop: the azure blue Indian Ocean with gently cresting waves, two potted palms waving in the breeze and tubs of flowers personally designed by the staff of Ms. Megawati, who is a plant lover.
In the distance, American warships, especially diverted for Mr. Bush's visit, patrolled the waters, and an extraordinary number of Secret Service and other security officials patrolled the grounds of the airport hotel where Mr. Bush held his official meetings.
Regard for the United States has plummeted in Indonesia since the war in Iraq, largely because the war was seen as a battle against Islam. A recent Pew poll showed that 61 percent of Indonesians held a positive view of the United States in mid-2002, but only 15 percent held a favorable view in June 2003.
Indonesia is the base for Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group that has been held responsible by the United States for the attack on a Bali nightclub last year that killed more than 200 people. The same group is blamed by the United States for the suicide bombing of the Marriott Hotel in the capital, Jakarta, in July.
Mr. Muzadi said he told Mr. Bush that people in Indonesia viewed the United States campaign on terror as a fight against Islam.
According to an American official, Mr. Bush seemed puzzled by the accusation, and pushed back, saying that as president he did not equate Islam with terrorism.
Mr. Bush also insisted that his Middle East policy was balanced because he was the first American president to call for an independent Palestine, the official said.
Before the visit, some Indonesians said they hoped Mr. Bush would modulate his usually stern message on terrorism, which they said often offends many Indonesians.
In a nod to a more nuanced approach, Mr. Bush offered $157 million for Indonesian education over the next six years. American officials said this would go chiefly to primary schools, including Islamic boarding schools.
The Bali locale turned out to be politically and logistically convenient, even though it meant that Mr. Bush skirted the Muslim heartland of Indonesia, American officials said.
The president's presence in Hindu Bali was justified because Bali was the site of the terror attack last year, they said.
In his speech, Mr. Bush paid tribute to the victims of the blast, and their families. He also thanked the Indonesian government for making headway in rounding up terrorists, some of whom have been sentenced to death after guilty verdicts in the Bali nightclub trials.
But while the Indonesians have arrested scores of Jemaah Islamiyah members, American officials have said the group still maintains cells.
The White House was also vexed by a recent speech by Ms. Megawati to the United Nations General Assembly in which she criticized the war in Iraq for causing more problems than it solved.
But despite these irritations, the Bush administration has decided that Ms. Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father, Sukarno, is the best bet among the many candidates in next year's national elections, the first direct polling for a president in the nation's history.
Whether a show of support from Mr. Bush will do much for Ms. Megawati's fortunes, given his lack of popularity among Indonesians, remains to be seen.
Indonesia's most prominent intellectual Muslim leader, Nurcolish Madjid, who has a doctorate from the University of Chicago, and has entered the presidential race, gave the clear signal that he thought Mr. Bush was not much help to him.
Mr. Madjid said he believed that his Islamic colleagues were wasting their time in meeting with Mr. Bush. "It will be in vain," he said before today's meeting.
Aside from Mr. Muzadi, the other Muslim leaders who met with Mr. Bush were Syafii Maarif, the head of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim group in Indonesia, with about 30 million members, and Azyumardi Azra, the director of the State Islamic University in Jakarta, where secular as well as religious subjects are included in the curriculum.
At the last minute, after the refusal of Mr. Gymanstiar, a Christian, the Rev. Natan Setiabudi, and a Hindu from Bali, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung, were included in the session. Indonesians are taught in school that Indonesia respects five main religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Christianity, which is usually interpreted in Indonesia as Protestantism.
[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/international/asia/22CND-BALI.html?pagewanted=2&hp"]http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/internat...pagewanted=2&hp[/url]
India denies Bali Govt sought help to promote Hindu culture
12-10-2003, Muslim News
By Chiang Mai (Thailand)
Press Trust of India:
India on Sunday denied media reports that the governor of Bali had written to it requesting cooperation in protection and promotion of Hindu culture among younger generations in Bali in Indonesia.
"No such communication was received" by the government, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.
According to media reports the Indian External Affairs Ministry had asked Bali governor Dewa Made Bertha to use the phrase "Indian culture" rather than "Hindu culture" since India was a secular country.
Bertha had called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on October 7 in Bali on the sidelines of the second India-ASEAN summit there. He had thanked Vajpayee for all the cooperation by India, including scholarships for students of Bali in Sanskrit and Indian studies.
The spokesman said the Bali governor had requested the Prime Minister for additional scholarships for students in technical education.
Vajpayee in turn had assured Bertha on possible cooperation and instructed the Indian ambassador HK Singh to implement the request for additional scholarships in technical education.
[url="http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=5939"]http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=5939[/url]
Here is an opportunity which should be seized to promote Hindu-Indonesia relationships which were very strong for a millennium between 8th and 18th centuries. Jakarta has the most magnificent edifice of Gitopades'am sculpture adoring the centre of the capital city. Indonesia has a 20,000 rupiah note which shows Vinayaka. A Garuda-Vishnu dhvaja stambha is being built in Jakarta, which will be a spiritual marvel.
The response of 'secular' Min. of External Affairs of Bharat, that is Indis is indeed shocking and shows the state of affairs in Bharat created by the Marxist, pseudo-secular mind-set.
When there is an opportunity to build up the traditions in Indonesia where Mahabharata and Ramayana episodes are still taught to school children and celebrated in theatrical shows adored by millions of Indonesians, Bharat also can learn from Indonesia on how to introduce Dharma in educational system and in the cultural affairs of a nation.
Bali is representative of the Hindu states of South-east Asia. There is a magnificent book by George Coedes titled Indianized States of Southeast Asia which is replete with Sanskrit inscriptions between 8th and 18th centuries in the region. Cambodia has the largest Hindu temple in the world: Angkor Wat (Nagara Va_t.ika). Every Cambodian family has a temple in every house and every Cambodian venerates the values of Hindu Dharma. Ayodhya is the second capital city of Thailand which has a King whose princess daughter is a Sanskrit scholar. Tiruppavai, Tiruvembavai are sung in Thailand during the King's coronation.
Now is the time to launch an Indian Ocean Academy to intensify people and scholar exchanges among Bharat and Asian States promoting Dharma-Dhamma. Bharatiyas should donate a jagannath ratha to Cambodia to celebrate a car-festival in Angkor Wat. Bharatiyas should send priests to train the local devotees in the Asian countries to perform puja-s according to a_gama-s..
Kalyanaraman
Bush, in Bali, Listens to Leaders' Complaints
By JANE PERLEZ
Published: October 22, 2003
ENPASAR, Indonesia, Oct. 22 â President Bush made a three-hour visit to the world's most populous Muslim nation today, a visit that was restricted for security reasons to Bali, the Hindu part of the country, and just to the airport area of the resort island.
The president is unpopular in Indonesia, but his appearance was mandated by what planners of the stopover called his desire to visit his firm ally, Australia, at the end of his Asian tour, and the political embarrassment that would be caused by flying over a moderate Muslim nation on his way south.
In a session intended to show that Mr. Bush was in a listening mode, the president heard complaints about his foreign policy from three Indonesian Muslim leaders selected by the White House for their moderate views.
Indonesia's most popular Muslim television preacher, Abdullah Gymanstiar, who has been embraced by the American Embassy in Indonesia as the model of a moderate Islamic leader, refused an invitation to meet Mr. Bush, calling him a man without compassion.
After the encounter with the president, Hasyim Muzadi, the chairman of the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama, with an estimated membership of 40 million, said he told Mr. Bush that his Middle East policy unfairly favored Israel.
He asked the president when American troops would leave Iraq to the Iraqis and told Mr. Bush, he said, that the United States should stop seeing Indonesia as a "terrorist's nest because Indonesia is a terror victim."
Mr. Bush tried to make the best out of what many Indonesians seemed to regard as an awkward visit, saying in a short speech that the United States and Indonesia held some common values: religious diversity and respect for liberty.
"Americans hold a deep respect for the Islamic faith which is professed by a growing number of my own citizens," Mr. Bush said. "We know Islam is fully compatible with liberty, tolerance and progress. We see the proof in your country."
Mr. Bush spoke from a thatched-roof pagoda, especially crafted for the occasion to give him and the Indonesian leader, Megawati Sukarnoputri, a Balinese context even though they were on the edge of the island's international airport.
American officials had deliberated for days over the exact spot for the pagoda so that the cameras would capture a photo-perfect backdrop: the azure blue Indian Ocean with gently cresting waves, two potted palms waving in the breeze and tubs of flowers personally designed by the staff of Ms. Megawati, who is a plant lover.
In the distance, American warships, especially diverted for Mr. Bush's visit, patrolled the waters, and an extraordinary number of Secret Service and other security officials patrolled the grounds of the airport hotel where Mr. Bush held his official meetings.
Regard for the United States has plummeted in Indonesia since the war in Iraq, largely because the war was seen as a battle against Islam. A recent Pew poll showed that 61 percent of Indonesians held a positive view of the United States in mid-2002, but only 15 percent held a favorable view in June 2003.
Indonesia is the base for Jemaah Islamiyah, a terrorist group that has been held responsible by the United States for the attack on a Bali nightclub last year that killed more than 200 people. The same group is blamed by the United States for the suicide bombing of the Marriott Hotel in the capital, Jakarta, in July.
Mr. Muzadi said he told Mr. Bush that people in Indonesia viewed the United States campaign on terror as a fight against Islam.
According to an American official, Mr. Bush seemed puzzled by the accusation, and pushed back, saying that as president he did not equate Islam with terrorism.
Mr. Bush also insisted that his Middle East policy was balanced because he was the first American president to call for an independent Palestine, the official said.
Before the visit, some Indonesians said they hoped Mr. Bush would modulate his usually stern message on terrorism, which they said often offends many Indonesians.
In a nod to a more nuanced approach, Mr. Bush offered $157 million for Indonesian education over the next six years. American officials said this would go chiefly to primary schools, including Islamic boarding schools.
The Bali locale turned out to be politically and logistically convenient, even though it meant that Mr. Bush skirted the Muslim heartland of Indonesia, American officials said.
The president's presence in Hindu Bali was justified because Bali was the site of the terror attack last year, they said.
In his speech, Mr. Bush paid tribute to the victims of the blast, and their families. He also thanked the Indonesian government for making headway in rounding up terrorists, some of whom have been sentenced to death after guilty verdicts in the Bali nightclub trials.
But while the Indonesians have arrested scores of Jemaah Islamiyah members, American officials have said the group still maintains cells.
The White House was also vexed by a recent speech by Ms. Megawati to the United Nations General Assembly in which she criticized the war in Iraq for causing more problems than it solved.
But despite these irritations, the Bush administration has decided that Ms. Megawati, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father, Sukarno, is the best bet among the many candidates in next year's national elections, the first direct polling for a president in the nation's history.
Whether a show of support from Mr. Bush will do much for Ms. Megawati's fortunes, given his lack of popularity among Indonesians, remains to be seen.
Indonesia's most prominent intellectual Muslim leader, Nurcolish Madjid, who has a doctorate from the University of Chicago, and has entered the presidential race, gave the clear signal that he thought Mr. Bush was not much help to him.
Mr. Madjid said he believed that his Islamic colleagues were wasting their time in meeting with Mr. Bush. "It will be in vain," he said before today's meeting.
Aside from Mr. Muzadi, the other Muslim leaders who met with Mr. Bush were Syafii Maarif, the head of Muhammadiyah, the second largest Muslim group in Indonesia, with about 30 million members, and Azyumardi Azra, the director of the State Islamic University in Jakarta, where secular as well as religious subjects are included in the curriculum.
At the last minute, after the refusal of Mr. Gymanstiar, a Christian, the Rev. Natan Setiabudi, and a Hindu from Bali, Ida Pedanda Gede Made Gunung, were included in the session. Indonesians are taught in school that Indonesia respects five main religions: Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism and Christianity, which is usually interpreted in Indonesia as Protestantism.
[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/international/asia/22CND-BALI.html?pagewanted=2&hp"]http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/22/internat...pagewanted=2&hp[/url]
India denies Bali Govt sought help to promote Hindu culture
12-10-2003, Muslim News
By Chiang Mai (Thailand)
Press Trust of India:
India on Sunday denied media reports that the governor of Bali had written to it requesting cooperation in protection and promotion of Hindu culture among younger generations in Bali in Indonesia.
"No such communication was received" by the government, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.
According to media reports the Indian External Affairs Ministry had asked Bali governor Dewa Made Bertha to use the phrase "Indian culture" rather than "Hindu culture" since India was a secular country.
Bertha had called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on October 7 in Bali on the sidelines of the second India-ASEAN summit there. He had thanked Vajpayee for all the cooperation by India, including scholarships for students of Bali in Sanskrit and Indian studies.
The spokesman said the Bali governor had requested the Prime Minister for additional scholarships for students in technical education.
Vajpayee in turn had assured Bertha on possible cooperation and instructed the Indian ambassador HK Singh to implement the request for additional scholarships in technical education.
[url="http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=5939"]http://www.muslimnews.co.uk/news/news.php?article=5939[/url]
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