Word: worldly
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...Obama's Cairo speech when he called for a new beginning with followers of Islam. But since that historic address, Muhammadiyah's chairman Din Syamsuddin has felt his hopes deflate. "Obama indicated in his speech that there would be mutual understanding and mutual respect between America and the Muslim world," he says. "But one year later, we have not seen those dreams realized and tensions still continue...
...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 youths susceptible to the call of militant clerics - can provide the world lessons on how to excise the cancer of religiously inspired violence from the Islamic faith...
...There's no question that orthodox dogma is gaining sway in Indonesia, like elsewhere in the Muslim world. In Jakarta, for instance, the number of women wearing headscarves has increased dramatically compared to a decade ago. As 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...
...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...
...adaptation of Mo Yan's Red Sorghum, set during the Japanese occupation. In fact, much of Mo Yan's fiction - from the 1996 epic he describes as his magnum opus, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, to Frog, published at the end of 2009 - is set in a world seemingly remote to the 350 million or so Chinese born after 1980 and the start of Deng Xiaoping's reformist policies. They also happen to be China's most voracious readers, judging by the way in which books targeting this youthful demographic dominate the best-seller lists. (See top 10 friction books...