He is handsome, young and a devout Muslim and his country's leading pop star. But would it surprise you to learn one of his songs, a tune that topped the charts, is called "Warriors of Love"?
Ahmad Dhani, Indonesia's counterpart to Justin Timberlake, has called his song a "musical fatwa against religious extremism and violence." The lyrics are derived from the Koran and Hadith. (Sample: "If hatred has already poisoned you/Against those... who worship differently/ Then evil has already gripped your soul/ Then evil's got you in its damning embrace.")
We also learn of former Indonesian president Gus Dur:
In addition to his position as former president of Indonesia, Gus Dur is also revered as the leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the world's largest Muslim organization, with nearly 40 million members. The Wall Street Journal has described him as "the single most influential religious leader in the Muslim world."There's also the first hint I've seen of that keen weapon of protest, black humor. It's the first Muslim joke I've run across:
Gus Dur has asked members of his group to protect Christian churches from Islamist attacks, and they have done so, at the risk of their lives. He and LibforAll co-founder C. Holland Taylor, an American former telecom entrepreneur who speaks fluent Indonesian and is very familiar with Islam, have launched what they hope will be a worldwide effort to counter radical Islam by enlisting moderate Muslims.
Question: What do you call an imam in a Mercedes?
Answer: a Wahhabi.
