Word: obamas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Nevertheless, just around the corner from the school is a Protestant church, as well as a Starbucks and a Dunkin' Donuts. For all its recent conservative leanings, Indonesia is hardly in danger of turning into a theocratic state, and the nation's pluralistic underpinnings are something Obama will doubtless celebrate during his visit. Predictably, some hard-line Islamic groups have already gathered across the nation to thrust their fists in the air and chant anti-American slogans. But their numbers, so far, have been limited. What reigns in Indonesia, instead, is waning optimism for Obama's efforts to re-engage...
...syncretic, moderate form of Islam. Yet a small band of homegrown extremists is waging a bloody jihad. A string of bombing campaigns, striking everywhere from Jakarta to the holiday isle of Bali, has claimed hundreds of foreign and local lives over the past eight years. Just weeks before Obama was due in Indonesia, police shot dead at an Internet café outside Jakarta a man believed to have orchestrated the 2002 bombings of two Bali nightclubs. Indonesia's efforts to counter its terror threat - so far it has had impressive success in netting hundreds of suspected extremists and re-educating...
...local governments have gained more autonomy, some have implemented a variety of Islamic-based legislation - ranging from enforced Koran literacy for Muslim children to the as-yet-unenforced stoning to death for adultery - despite the fact that Indonesia is officially a secular nation. At Menteng Elementary School where Obama once studied, the principal and many teachers wear veils. The Muslim prayer room in the public school is much larger than it was when Obama attended classes there...
...Read "For His Asia Trip, Obama Has a United Brain Trust...
...More Hope Than Change Of course, global expectations were always going to be tough for Obama to meet. When he was elected President, much of the world, including Asia, considered Obama their leader too. From climate change to a détente with Islamic nations, Asians hoped Obama would somehow solve a multitude of global problems. But there was no magic wand, nor has Obama's connection to Asia translated into significantly closer ties. "Even though he grew up in Indonesia, Obama's strength is as a local community activist, not as a foreign policy expert," says Bara Hasibuan, foreign...