Most Indonesians, if they could vote in the upcoming U.S. elections, will surely vote for Barrack Obama.
Most Muslims, if they could and wanted to vote, will perhaps, too.
For Indonesians, the fact that Obama spent some part of his childhood in Jakarta's elite residential area in Menteng, including studying shortly in an elementary school there, gives them somehow a little pride.
Indonesia, although the fourth most populous country in the world, the biggest Muslim country and an archipelago of 17,000 islands, is very little known to most Americans, and surely most the world's citizens, too (Bali, which is just one of its islands, is much more famous, though).
So, it is this senator Obama's entering to the U.S. presidential race's stage that make Indonesia a little known than before. Cmiw.
A very naive reason for attachment, don't you think? But, it is what's happening anyway; and that sort of attachment, which is rooted in nationalism, I guess, is quite irresistible.
Secondly, about the Muslims. Of course we Muslims here cannot vote for Obama; I maybe trying to talk about Muslim voters in the United States, or at least trying to explore their minds, in regards to their possible decisions in the elections day.
The number of Muslims in the US surprisingly reached millions. I remember, back to years ago, before the Sept. 11 tragedy took place and before George W. Bush was elected as president for the first time, Bush was reported in mass media, over and over, as trying to woo the Muslim voters.
As a naive Indonesian (also Muslim) high-school student, who uncommonly followed the news of the past U.S. presidential elections, I preferred Bush to Al Gore. The reason is simple. First, Al Gore's running mate was a Jewish, and it looks like we Muslims, especially in Indonesia, tend to prefer Christians to Jewish (perhaps it's the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts that help us develop the tendency).
And secondly, Bush's conservative view resembles that of us, more or less (you know those abortion, gay issues, etc).
But, well, who would have ever thought he would ever turn his back against us, betray us and hurt us Muslims, particularly (perhaps) the U.S. Muslims that voted for him. In fact, that stupid (@#*#@!!!) Bush has hurt us very severely, with all his Islamophobic hate policies post the Sept. 11 attack, which is then followed by widespread Islamophobia, prejudices and hatred against Islam and Muslims everywhere around the world.
Why are we hurt? Because most of us Muslims still can't believe that those stupid terrorism acts were committed by our Muslim fellows. Because we hate to be forced to admit that the terrorist attacks were committed by one of us and then told to compromise, if not to slowly change our faith, just because of these ill-accusations.
However different and varied interpretations of Koranic verses and hadeeth (Prophet Muhammad saw's sayings)are, we know none of them ever suggest such ill-acts of killing the innocents, whatever the reason is.
And these so-called Muslim terrorism had never been known before the suspicious Sept. 11 attacks.
Most of us still believe that what has happened must be a systematic, high-profile conspiracy, which puts us as suspects in this ill-drama of global terrorism.
The actors might be our Muslim fellows, but the directors are never. Those Muslims, like Osama bin Laden and the gank, must have been brainwashed or something.
The conspiracy theory, which, of course, is always denied by pro-Western people, either the non-Muslims or the Muslims themselves.
I can say this because I have seen and talked and got in touch with many of the so-called fundamentalist Muslims and know them pretty well to judge them fairly. Yet the so-called fundamentalists-terrorists were not even known among these fundamentalist movements, who usually know each other very well even though they act separately.
Back to Obama, using an instinct, I, as I'm sure also most of Muslims, will prefer him to John McCain, the latter of who, with his running mate Sarah Palin, have campaigned that the Iraqi war is a duty from God (that makes the war sound like a new crusade to these presidential and vice presidential candidates, don't u think so?).
Thus, although Obama is labeled as very liberal, our instinct makes him sound better than his rival.
But, that's if we use our instinct.
If we use or sense, our rational thoughts, I don't think neither should be voted.
I'm not sure Obama can benefit Muslims, and even Indonesians, if he is elected. He has so far said nothing that indications such good will.
It is just our naive thoughts that make us, some Muslims and most Indonesians, think he can.
