Trump’s Jerusalem call sparks Asia-wide anger

Dec 15, 2017

By Umar Manzor Shah, Srinagar and Ryan Dagur
US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital has sparked anger across Muslim countries and communities in Asia, with Malaysia saying it is ready to play a role in any resulting conflict.

On Dec. 11, thousands of members of the radical group Islamic Defenders Front and other Muslim hardliners staged a rally in front of the US embassy in Jakarta.

"We want President Trump to rescind his decision," Slamet Maarif, a spokesman for the hard-line group, told ucanews.com.

"We also want [Indonesian] President Joko Widodo to take concrete steps to respond to the issue. If he does not, we will handle it our way. We are ready to be jihadists in Jerusalem," he said.

Similar rallies led by the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Islamic organization in the country, were also staged in front of the embassy Dec. 10 and 8, respectively.

Yenny Wahid, executive director of the Wahid Foundation, which promotes tolerance and dialogue, said that she had told the US ambassador to Indonesia, Joseph R. Donovan, at one of last week's rally that Trump's move had triggered tensions in Muslim countries including Indonesia.

NU chairman Said Aqil Siradj  said Trump's decision had put world peace at risk.

"Jerusalem is not the Israeli capital, it is the Palestinians'," he said.

Widodo said Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital had "violated various resolutions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly of which the United States is a member state."

He added he would raise the issue at the Organization for Islamic Cooperation summit scheduled for Dec. 13 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said in a speech Dec. 9 reported by the Malay Mail online, that his country was ready to send military forces to Jerusalem.

"We are ready for any orders from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces ... should our services be needed," he reportedly said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that while he rejected Trump's decision, bilateral ties would not be affected, The Star newspaper reported Dec. 10.

But Trump's action could also complicate progress on a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine, Najib warned.

The decision was also met with dismay by some Christian groups in the region.

Reverend Gomar Gultom, secretary-general of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, regarded President Trump's move as "a form of abandonment of the long journey taken by Christians and the international community to seek a two-state resolution to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict."

Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, who is also chairman of the Indonesian Catholic Bishops' Conference, believed that "whoever controls Jerusalem, the city will remain the Holy City, and the Catholic faith will not change because of it."--ucanews. com (Used with permission)