by Mathias Hariyadi
A fundamentalist minority launches propaganda to highlight the conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East. Protest marches, flags burned, a house used as a synagogue and American chain stores attacked in East Java and central Sulawesi. Humanitarian aid from Indonesia for Palestinians in the Strip.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Islamic fundamentalist groups are using the Palestinian crisis to highlight the conflict between Christians and Muslims in the Middle East, and to promote a fundamentalist view of Islam in Indonesia. The charge comes from activists for interreligious dialogue and minority representatives, who point out appeals to jihad on the part of extremist movements, an escalation in protests, and a distorted view of the reasons for the conflict in Palestine, in a significant subgroup of Indonesian Muslims. The extremists include Hizb ut-Tahrir, a worldwide movement aimed at reestablishing the caliphate, and the Front Pembela Islam.

In recent days, there have been demonstrations, flags burned, boycotts of American products and brands, and the "closing" of a private home used as a synagogue. Last January 7, a thousand demonstrators - belonging to 21 Muslim organizations - organized a protest march in Surabaya, capital of the province of East Java. They waved Palestinian flags, chanted and sang, and then burned Israeli and American flags. They also displayed a banner calling for "a total boycott of both Israeli and American products," and then marched to a McDonald's restaurant. Finally, they went to a home in the city center - turned into a Jewish house of worship - and padlocked the entrance. "We want to show the whole Jewish society in the world that we - Muslims in Indonesia - are against any hostility against our (Muslim) brethren in Gaza,” said Kiai Hajj Abdus Somad Buchori, a member of the local chapter of the Islamic Ulemas Council, the group that organized the demonstration in East Java.

A similar demonstration took place in central Sulawesi: in this case as well there were calls for a boycott of American products, and a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant was targeted. The store was damaged, then closed for three days in a sign of "solidarity" with the Palestinians of Gaza.

The attempt to radicalize the conflict in the Holy Land in religious terms is of concern to the moderate Muslim majority in the country, and to activist organizations. Former Indonesian president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, while condemning the atrocities committed in Gaza, also excludes any religious motivation, and calls for "diplomatic means" to resolve the conflict. He is echoed by the Indonesian commission for women's rights, which accuses the extremist wing of circulating "misleading news" for a political purpose: to promote a fundamentalist view of Islam in the country. On January 5, Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued an appeal to the country, calling upon citizens not to "mix religion and politics" in regard to the conflict in the Holy Land.

In the meantime, the first shipment of humanitarian aid sent by Indonesia has reached the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Rustam S. Pakaya, head of the humanitarian mission and an official at the health ministry, delivered the shipment to Palestinian representative Faiz Hamzah across the checkpoint in Rafah, on the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.