The imminent arrival of president Barack Obama to Indonesia harvested many protests. The pros and cons continue to flow in. Various opinions from various circles turn up one after another. There are those who prepare for the reception and there are also those who oppose it outright.

Despite already having been awarded the Nobel peace prize, it never changes the perception of many people about Obama. As the number 1 in the superpower country, the public’s spotlight on him never stops, such as what happened on 22nd February 2010 recently, when the government of Afghanistan exposed NATO’s air strike that killed 21 civilians. Earlier, America under the command of Obama as the president had sent 30 thousands additional forces to spill blood in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, thousands of American forces are still committing butcheries. Millions of people have become victims of the American brutality. Not to mention the Zionist state of Israel which receives full supports from Obama and thus continues to slaughter the Palestinians unremittingly, after being successful in turning that small country into a roofless “prison” for its populations. Obama was also turning deaf and dumb when the Jewish entity massacred 1300 Muslims in Gaza.

The irony is, this country that always claimed to be championing the basic human rights is silent over the brutalities and inhumanities perpetrated by its forces, as if “hiding the hand after throwing the stone” (proverb meaning: someone who doesn’t want to be responsible for their actions). Obama still has not closed the Guantanamo prison, the place of detention and tortures of innocent Muslims, despite already having promised to do it.

What is the purpose of Obama's visit to Indonesia? There surely is an objective and intention for this so-called number one man’s need to set foot in this disorderly country. As a country in which the number of its Muslim population is the biggest in the world, Indonesia is indeed a suitable stopping ground for Obama in order to heal his bad name and give America a positive image for the Islamic world. As if Obama wants to show to the world that he could still hold hands with Muslim rulers. Obama wants the world to know that he could not only kill the Muslims but also embrace them. For what? To get the benefits from it. To tie up its power more tightly until it becomes more subjected to America. And what is certain is that, the goal of the imperialist invader country is to completely scrape the natural wealth out of this fertile and abundant country, until all its citizens are getting poorer and more needy, so that they could easily be controlled.

How about the leader of this country where the majority its populations are Muslim? President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) is a trusted man of Obama. Why not? SBY himself admitted that America is his second country and he would love it with all of its errors. Meaning, whatever is being said by America, it is all YES, without even caring whether the people agree or not. Even though peaceful demonstrations protesting the coming of Obama have been held everywhere, President SBY still does not want to know about it. On the contrary, he even makes extraordinary preparations for the reception. That is democracy. He said sovereignty is in the hands of the people, but apparently, even though the people had shouted to the loudest pitch of their voices, they are still unheard by the rulers. Maybe sovereignty is not in the hands of the lower people after all, but in the hands of the people who are aristocrats.

As intelligent Muslims, we must have a strong basis in our actions. In the time when Allah hates the people who are hostile to Islam, we are also obligated to hate them. In the time when the enemies of Allah wants to set foot in this country, it is just logical for us to reject them. It is haram for us to shake hands with the murderers of Muslims whose hands are still stained with the blood of our brothers and sisters.

May, one day, the Muslims be able to have a genuine leader. A leader who is amanah (trustworthy) and who is truly a protector of the subjects he leads. We are longing for a firm leader like Khalifah Al-Mu’tasim Billah, who sent thousands of Muslim forces when knowing that a Muslimah was abused by the Roman soldiers. Only with Islam that the Muslims could be successful again. Only by using the law of Islam that the Muslims could again become the rahmatan lil ‘alamin.

Sriana Nurfirman

Source: muslimdaily.net