By Nadine Siak
Washington File Staff Writer 09/26/2002

Washington -- Twenty-five leaders of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools, known as pesantren, are in the United States to examine the concepts of community and parental participation in education and the role of education in fostering an open society in the United States.

Achmad Musta'in, from Jombang, said through a translator that prior to this trip, his conceptions of U.S. society stemmed from snippets of American pop culture exported to Indonesia. Now that he has had a chance to see the U.S. educational system and American youth first-hand, he said, he was surprised to find reality is "not at all reflected" on MTV.

Musta'in, who is from the pesantren once led by former Indonesian President Wahid, added that he was also "caught by surprise by the morality and humanity of American society."

He cited the respect Americans show to one another, and to human rights: "People don't speak loud to other people; disabled people get priority; many non-governmental organizations provide services to the unfortunate ... and the government provides the people with the freedom of religion, of expression, freedom of worship."

Abdul A'la, who leads a pesantren in Madura, said in English that it was "a big surprise" to find that American people are religious.

A'la said he had been particularly impressed by a professor of Islamic Studies his group had met at a seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. The professor, a Muslim-American, fascinated him because the professor promoted -- and embodied -- the concept of two identities coexisting within one individual.

"In Indonesia, it is difficult to be Muslim-Indonesian, Japanese-Indonesian. We are forced to become Indonesian, that's all," A'la explained.

"For myself, besides democracy, I think pluralism should be spread around the world," he said, adding that he hoped to invite the Muslim-American professor to Indonesia some day.

Muhammad Gazali, head of an Islamic boarding school in Banjarbaru, smiled broadly and said through a translator that he had been nervous before coming to the United States because he figured that somebody would try to kill him during his visit "since I look like Osama bin Laden."

Gazali has found himself not only safe from assassination -- but after being in the United States for 10 days under the auspices of a State Department-funded program, he said, "I'm in heaven here because of the hospitality of the American people and the beauty of the country."

All three pesantren leaders interviewed mentioned that prior to coming to the United States, they strongly believed -- based on media reports -- that "Americans love war" and that U.S. foreign policy showed their desire to be the "policemen" of the world.

The "humanity" of the Americans they had met so far, however, contradicted these perceptions.

Through a translator, Musta'in said the United States should try to become "the prophet of the world" and use its vast resources "to bring love and peace."

"There's nobody in the world who wants to kneel down and kiss the foot of a policeman, but there will be many people who would like to kneel down and kiss the foot of a prophet," he said.

Programs such as the State Department-funded program he was participating in, Musta'in added, "is a step in the right direction."

The nearly half-million dollar State Department program began its first phase on September 8, 2002. In this phase, 25 pesantren leaders are traveling around the United States to visit universities, public schools, NGOs, Islamic centers, and other sites arranged by the Institute for Training and Development (ITD) in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Additional assistance grants will be awarded to individual pesantren in the second phase of the program -- conducting projects in Indonesia for the enhancement of community-school relations. This phase will include workshops to bring participants back together to share the lessons of the grant projects and to identify future courses of action.

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