“This is what we all wanted and we are now very hopeful that he can restore peace in the world.”
“US polls: Indonesian Islamic fundamentalists cheer Obama win,” from AKI, November 5 (thanks to Kamala):
Jakarta, 5 Nov. (AKI) — Representatives of some of Indonesia’s fundamentalist Islamic groups on Wednesday celebrated United States President-elect Barack Obama’s sweeping victory in Tuesday’s presidential polls, claiming the win will be good for interracial relations and world peace….
Muhammad Nidzom Hidayatullah, general secretary of the Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) East Java branch, told Adnkronos International that Obama’s election was the result of democracy and this showed that the US has begun to open up to different races.
“Everyone should cherish this because it is likely that it will lead to improvements to race relations all over the world,” he said.
The MUI is the country”s top state-endorsed Muslim organisation. It is considered rather conservative and out of sync with most of the country”s 200 million Muslims, who profess a liberal and moderate version of Islam.
Achmad Sobry Lubis, secretary general of the militant, anti-American Front Pambela Islam (FPI) said that he “praised Allah for Obama’s win.”
“This is what we all wanted and we are now very hopeful that he can restore peace in the world,” he told AKI.
He also said that Obama’s multicultural upbringing should give him the tools to better understand the Muslim world.
“Hopefully this will go somewhere to change the image of Muslims in America where they are often equated with terrorists, anarchists and more.”…
Of course, Obama can’t change the image of Muslims in America — and why should he be able to, since, as he has insisted all along, he is a Christian and was never a Muslim? In any case, only Muslims in America have the power to change their image, by stopping their denial and obfuscation about Islamic jihad terrorism and supremacism, and working to end them. But no one should hold his breath waiting for them to do that.