Revisiting Indonesian public reactions against Danish cartoons depicting prophet Muhammad1

This paper revisits the case of cartoon controversy in 2006, particularly focusing on the way in which the Indonesian public reacted against the twelve Muhammad Danish cartoons by the Jylands-Posten published in September 30, 2005. The study remains relevant as the case reflects not only Muslims’ reaction against the blasphemy theologically but it also mirrors the new face of Indonesian Islam in the reform era which has given birth to a new free public 1 The draft of this paper was presented at the International Consortium for Research in the Humanities, field research four: Religion and Globalization, Dynamic in the History of Religions between Asia and Europe, Ruhr University Bochum, September 8, 2009. My thanks should go to Ilham Khoiri (Kompas), Asrori S. Karni (Gatra), and Alimin Muchtar who helped me trace sources. I would also like to express my gratitude to Prof. Marion Eggert (Ruhr University Bochum), Prof. Stefan Reichmuth (Ruhr University Bochum), Prof. Timothy Daniels (Hofstra University), and Prof. Amy Remensnyder (Brown University) for their valuable advises. I then revised this work during my fellowship at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore (NUS), in February 2012. On January 2014, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Indonesia granted me an opportunity to visit Heidelberg University, where I revised again this paper. For the Ministry’s grant I thank Prof. Dede Rosyada, Prof. Amin Abdullah, Prof. Faisal Ismail, and Drs. Khoeroni. Indonesian Journal of Islam and Muslim Societies Vol. 5, no.2 (2015), pp. 195-229, doi : 10.18326/ijims.v5i2.195-229


Introduction
The publication of the twelve Muhammad Danish cartoon on September 30, 2005 has drawn world's attention and sparked reactions particularly from the Muslims countries.The story goes that the cartoons controversy was initially limited to a national level, which the Danish government failed to cope with, but it then escalated into a global crisis2 .Various protests against the cartoons publication led to violent riots in many Muslim majority states across Africa, Middle East, South and Southeast Asia 3 .The media certainly played a vital role in exacerbating Muslims' anger-who deem the status of Muhammad in high regard but failed to understand the Danish and European culture and context-with Denmark, where the cartoons were drawn and published for the first time 4 .Indeed, due to sensational news of the cartoons, local level and international media were eager to blow up the news, and often to exaggerate the case.This was one of the contributing factors yielding a long global crisis.The economic loss due to the boycott against the Danish products in the Middle Eastern countries did not end until 2007.Note, for example, that the Danish Arla foods employed various communication strategies to regain the trust from its Muslim consumers. 5In June 2008, still under was built, particularly with fast cyberspace media. 11In the context of globalized world, Olesen 12 argues that the publication of the cartoons and the reaction against it were part of transnational dialectic process in which many nations with their own mission, agenda, and interests-either in defence of or objection to the publication of the cartoons-interacted.Indeed, the twelve cartoons were not mere mocking images. 13But, they have become public properties related to much more complex global communication among people with diverse cultures and various standards of morality.
It is true that the cartoons were drawn by the Danish artists and published in the country within the European context where the integration of Muslim immigrants and the project of pluralism became heated political issues in the public domain. 14However, the controversy which spread across the globe was unpredictable.Each country with its specific political, religious, and economic situation showed its own way to react. 15It is, however, predictable that Muslims, whose sacred symbol was humiliated, 16 were outraged.But, Muslims living in different countries expressed their anger differently.

Indonesian Islam in the reform era
In Indonesia during the wake of the New Order regime's collapse have emerged new players with more conservative, if not radical, 'Islamist' ideologies visible in both political stage and public domain.Along with the tide of democratization in the country, Indonesians have enjoyed new freedom.Amid economic crisis and political chaos after Soeharto's loss of grip of power in the country, various opportunities for those who wanted to bring religious identity into politics came.The old spirit of 'Islamism,' which was once displayed by the Masyumi (the Council of Indonesian Muslim Associations) during Soekarno's era, was revived in a different manner and with a new globalized context.It is also noteworthy that after the September 11 incident, along with the war on terrorism waged by the US, Islamic radicalism gain momentum in the globally heated public discussion. 17urthermore, the NU and Muhammadiyah, two major Islamic organizations in the country, did no longer dominate the public space in Indonesia during the reform period.Note that most of the new groups which came to participate in the public domain during the period showed Islamist ideologies, 18 such as the FPI (Defenders Front of Islam), the HTI (Hisbut Tahrir of Indonesia), the MMI (Mujahidin council of Indonesia), the FUI (Islamic Community Forum), Kumail (The Committee of Islamic Community for Anti-America and Anti-Israel).It is also noteworthy that the MUI (Indonesian Ulama Council), founded in 1975 aiming at bridging Muslims' and the government's interests, also played a greater role in the public domain during the reform period.Indeed, the MUI holds authority in the Indonesian Muslims' eyes through pronouncing religious edicts (fatwa).Unlike during the New Order era in which the MUI, like any other Islamic organizations, was managed to be silenced by the regime, in the reform era the Council often raised voices in response to various national issues from pornography to the increase of fuel's price.The speech delivered by the Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 19 and the cartoons controversy were the themes upon which the MUI showed eagerness to comment.In this vein, the Council often sided with the conservative and radical groups, as the council did so in response to the Muhammad Danish cartoons.

Reactions against the cartoons in national level
Like the rest of Muslims in the Arab world, 20 Indonesians also felt that with the publication of the Muhammad Danish cartoons their identity of being Muslims was under attack.For Muslims, not only is Muhammad a mere man who lived in the seventh century of the Arabian peninsula preaching Islam and revealing the Quran, but he also has become the most vital symbol of Muslims' identity throughout fifteen centuries. 21To 19 Makin, "Benedict XVI and Islam." 20Ana Belen Soage, "The Danish Caricatures Seen from the Arab World," Totalitarian Movements & Political Religions 7, no. 3 (2006), 363-69; Jamila Hakam, "The 'Cartoons Controversy': A Critical Discourse Analysis of English-Language Arab Newspaper Discourse," Discourse & Society 20, no. 1 (2009), 33-57. 21 Andrew F March, "Speaking about Muhammad, Speaking for Muslims," Critical Inquiry 37, no. 4 (2011), 806-21.present the Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's words, published by the International Herald Tribune, "It sends a conflicting message to the Muslim community: that in a democracy, it is permissible to offend Islam."22Unsurprisingly, solidarity was shown from Muslims around the world, including Muslims in Indonesia, leading to violent riots and death threats.
It is interesting to see the way in which Hassner23 sheds light on the riots resulting from the protests staged by Muslims from different countries.To his analysis, authoritarian regimes were able to suppress the people's protests and demonstrations, which became less brutal.This was the case with many Middle Eastern and African countries ranging from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen, Qatar, Sudan, Algeria, to Somalia.In the Muslim countries where civil liberties and political rights were exercised, riots occurred, due to the freedom exercised by the outrageous radical Muslims to whom the government responded late and yet haphazardly.Worse still, confrontation between demonstrators and security forces was visible. 24In Indonesia, unlike its Muslim neighbouring country Malaysia in which protests generated less chaotic mob, some radical groups who held mass rallies and ambushed Danish embassies were undeterred by the security forces' order.
Once again, after Soeharto's fall, mass demonstrations in the streets marked the emergence of freedom of expression in Indonesia.Many groups with different affiliations and voices had the same opportunity to show their stances.Yet one was often confused between the freedom of expression in the newly democratic country and anarchism.The case of Danish cartoons indicated the situation in which radical Muslim groups seized the moment.In defence of Islam, some groups-e.g. the FPI, the HTI, the MMI, the FUI, Kumail, and the PKS-were enraged by the cartoons publication, burning Danish flags, throwing eggs, tomatoes, and mud at the Danish embassy in Jakarta, threatening the cartoonists with death, and calling upon Muslims to boycott Danish products via SMS (short message system) of cell phones. 25The violent protests were also reported in Surabaya, where the local police failed to stop them. 26espite their anger and protest, both Hasyim Muzadi and Din Syamsuddin, the NU's and Muhammadiyah's leaders respectively, tried to calm down the people.Syamsuddin urged Muslims not to 'overreact' against the cartoons. 27Muzadi, on the other hand, promised to the public to send a protest letter to the Danish embassy in Indonesia. 28By contrast, a MUI leader, Abdullah Syukri seems to justify the mass protests in the national and local levels throughout Indonesia, by saying that mass protests against the cartoons remained in the normal level and controllable. 29t is no exaggeration to conclude that all of the above conservative and radical groups showed no intention to see what the cartoons looked like, much less to understand the context in which the cartoons were drawn.After all, the images were not available in the Indonesian websites.The Rakyat Merdeka was the only newspaper in Indonesia which once displayed the cartoons-which then were responded to by protests.Although the pictures were blurred in red, the editor of the newspaper was forced to apologize publicly. 30The web Lapotuak.wordpress.compublished the cartoons more clearly, which was soon under police's investigation and shut down. 31he Indonesian media also covered the full chronology of the cartoons controversy from its publications on September 30, 2005 to the outrageous reactions of Muslims around the world. 32This also played a role in further fuelling the Indonesian Muslims' anger.In reading these reactions against the Danish cartoons, the Indonesian context-which has played a critical role in shaping the opinions of the media, which, in turn, influenced the public's understanding of the issue-should be born in mind. 33Gadamer's hermeneutic in this regard is useful.According to Gadamer, the significance of a game involves a great role of the spectators, whose contribution in giving meaning to the game cannot simply be neglected. 34One may also relate this perspective to the theory of 'the death of the author', 35 according to which those who have written pieces can no longer control their meaning.Instead, it is the audiences who later play a greater role in shaping the interpretation of the works, trough which new meanings are thus produced in new contexts.Particularly in the era of globalization and online media, the act of interpretation becomes a public deed, through which anyone can give new meanings to the works, regardless of the original intention of the authors. 36The case of Danish Muhammad cartoons is not exceptional.The cartoonists argued that they defended the values and principles of the freedom of speech and equal treatment to all citizens within the Danish context.Muslims around the world, however, reacted against them by showing their wounds due to the mockery of their 'symbol' and 'identity' that is the Prophet Muhammad. 37lthough online media connected people around the globe, due to the fast transmission of information, it also sharpened the differences between those who delivered message within the original context and those who understood it from the other parts of the world far away.It is interesting to see the gap between the 'original' intention of the publication of the cartoons and the Indonesian audience's negative perception.Fleming Rose, 38 the culture editor of Jyllands-Posten, argued that the publication is part of his goals to challenge 'moderate Muslims to speak out'.
In this regard, Rose wrote that 'we are integrating you (Muslims) into the Danish tradition of satire because you are part of our society, not strangers'. 39The Indonesian audience, however, understood the cartoons differently, as this paper intends to show.In view of the harsh public reactions displayed in the printed and electronic Indonesian media, one may conclude that all Indonesians condemned the Danish twelve cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in the same way.However, the reactions indeed varied, reflecting the ideologies the people embraced-whether they were radicals, conservatives, moderates, or liberals. 40My paper will delve into the arguments contained by thirteen selected pieces penned by Indonesian intellectuals and activists below.

Thirteen op-ed pieces and one interview
In this study, I choose thirteen op-ed pieces and one interview published by the online Indonesian media specifically in response to the Muhammad Danish cartoons.These responses represented various ideologies embraced by the Indonesian writers, intellectuals, and activists.In my analysis, I divide the opinions released by the Indonesian writers into two groups.The first group displays harsh reactions against the cartoons relying on theological arguments demonstrated by Thoriq, 41 Hizbullah Mahmud,42 Syamsi Ali, 43 and Adian Husaini. 44The second group shows more sober sian personal websites, whose affiliations are either conservative or radical groups, such as the PKS activists.The PKS groups outside Indonesia, such as in Germany, have actively used the online media, which features Husaini's views, to propagate their conservative ideology.Nevertheless, these writers-Mahmud, Ali, and Husaini-all rely on theological foundation apparently to legitimize the actions of their angry fellow Muslims, adopting an apologetic attitude in defence of Islam. 55In doing so, they based their judgements on their interpretation of some verses of Quran, hadith (tradition), and some episodes of the si> ra (literature on the life of the Prophet Muhammad).Seen from the sources, they are conservative Muslims with traditional style.Condemnation, curses, and fury embellish their writings.
Those who hold 'cultural arguments,' on the other hand, demonstrated more sophisticated reasoning equipped with various sources.Their voices are not homogenous.Their interpretation of the pictures is equipped with hermeneutical effort in rendering meaning to these satirical depictions of the Prophet.Some attempts-e.g.those made by Djumala, Mohamad, Pamuntjak-were indeed made to grasp the context wherein the cartoons were published.Interestingly, the case of the cartoons served as lesson for some writers-Mohamad, Pamuntjak, Rouf, Hasyim-calling upon Muslims to perform self-reflection as to whether or not they are committed to fair judgement of the 'West.'Rather than merely curses poured upon the cartoonists, Danish government, and society altogether, the door of dialogue was also apparently open to these writers. 55Here we can perhaps draw the relation between opinions posted in the media and various ideologies embraced by and attitude of the people.Daniels, "Liberals, Moderates and Jihadits: Protesting Danish Cartoons in Indonesia"; Makin, "Benedict XVI and Islam"; and the relation between online media and the off line actions Georan Larsson, "Cyber-Islamophobia?The Case of WikiIslam," Contemporary Islam 1, no. 1 (2007), 53-67.Mohammad is a leading Indonesian journalist, whose fame rest in his essays published weekly by the magazine Tempo, where Pamuntjak and Asa also work.Besides writing, Mohamad gave patronage to young Muslim intellectuals, such as Ulil Abshar Abdallah and Lutfie Assyaukanie, to develop liberal and progressive ideas in Utan Kayu, Jakarta.The Islamic Liberal Network (JIL), which published Ro'uf's opinion and Assyaukanie's interview with Mohamad, is the medium of liberal Islam's voices, often countering views published by the Hidayatullah.comwhich propagates radicalism and conservatism.Kompas, which publishes Hasyim's and Sambazy's opinions, is the largest daily newspaper in Indonesia, previously associated with Catholicism, but later gave room to the ideas of moderate Islam in Indonesia.The first English daily newspaper The Jakarta Post, which preserves Bayuni's and Suryodiningrat's opinions, is the boldest newspaper in Indonesia in unleashing criticism to both the government and Islamic radicalism during the reform era.Whereas Kompas reserves a certain careful attitude in releasing news with sensitive issues to both Muslims and the government, The Jakarta Post is the place where free expression can be guaranteed.It stands to reason to argue that the Kompas uses the Indonesian languages easily understood by Indonesians, while The Post's readers are 'elite' English speakers.Bayuni was the editor in chief of The Post.Whereas Hasyim was an NGO activist at the International Center for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP), who currently was still finishing his Ph.D in Berlin, Germany, Djumala was an Indonesian diplomat based in Brussels, Belgium.

Theological arguments
Outrageous reactions against the publication of the Danish cartoons with theological arguments are preserved in the works of Thoriq, Hizbullah Mahmud, Syamsi Ali, and Adian Husaini, all of whom represent those who show their offence publicly against the cartoonists in more or less the same way.Notwithstanding different verses of Quran, H{ adi> th, and episodes of the si> ra they pick to support their view, they all defend the truth of Islam and the venerable position of the Prophet Muhammad in the eyes of Muslims.Additionally, all assault Western values, including the freedom of speech, their irreligious character, and hegemonic imperialism.

Condemning the blasphemy
Four writers-Thoriq, 56 Mahmud, 57 Ali, 58 and Husaini 59 -show their anger that these Danish cartoonists, who committed blasphemy, deserve curses and even punishment.Thoriq unleashes attack on the cartoonists that they have vilified the Prophet, whom all Muslims highly venerate.Thoriq adds that the Prophet's deeds are examples for all Muslims.His words, which become the second source for Muslims' religiosity, have been carefully transmitted in numerous hadith collections.Thoriq, in this vein, cites a tradition, showing 'Umar b.Khat} t} a> b's tender love of the Prophet, 60 which, Thoriq says, represents that of all Muslims.Mahmud also subscribes to the view that the publication of the cartoons is similar to the evil deeds of the previous enemies of Islam, such as the people of T{ a> 'if and the Quraysh, who scorned the Prophet's call to Islam.
Ali and Husaini seem to see the 'mocking' pictures, on which therefore certain parts of their comments are made.Ali, in this regard, is extremely angered by the cartoon which depicts the Prophet with a bomb in his turban.According to Ali, not only does this picture exhibit a gross blasphemy, it also shows the cartoonists' wild imagination.Thus, all of these pictures, like the visualization of Jesus and Maria in Christian traditions, contain nothing but deceptive portrayals.Moreover, the picture of Muhammad's head with a bomb, according to Ali, is a false accusation against the Prophet of being a suicide bomber.
Husaini comments on another cartoon depicting the Prophet who shouts, "Stop stop, we ran out of virgins!" This, for Husaini, implies nothing but an extreme cruelty of the cartoonists (biadab dan keterlaluan), who have made the honourable Prophet of Islam as their mere toy (mainan), laughable stock (bahan tertawaan), and the subject of scorn (bahan ejekan)which, Husaini further argues, hurt the feeling of Muslims (perasaan pedih).For this, Husaini calls upon Muslims to perform jiha> d (jihad melawan sebuah kezaliman yang teramat sangat).

The Quran has already spoken about 'their deeds'
Interestingly, according to Thoriq, Ali, and Husaini, the Quran has spoken about the cartoonists' evil deeds.In other words, they regard the act of cartoonists as similar to the immoral deeds already pinpointed by the Scripture fifteen centuries ago.Thoriq, for instance, presents Q. 33: 6, which preserves the story of Noah who was confronted by the attacks of his people.In other words, the wicked acts committed by the cartoonists are the same as those of the people of Noah (Q.7: 65-66), the unbelievers of 'A< d, Thamu> d, and Midian, all of whom committed the same pattern of malicious behaviours against their prophets.This recalls the way in which Sayyid Qutb read the narrative of Quran, in which some protagonist and antagonist characters, such as Moses and Pharaoh, were projected to his own political experience in facing the modern Egyptian re-gime.Moses represents Qutb's own struggle, whereas Pharaoh his political enemy, Gamal Abdel Nasser. 61urthermore, Thoriq sees the Danish cartoons as the media, in which 'the West' exercised their dictatorship.Those who disagree with the 'West,' Thoriq simplifies, would be annihilated, with either war or embargo, as the 'West' always demands Muslims' loyalty and obedience.This stance also reflects that of Qutb.

Recalling the si> ra
Besides re-enacting the stories of Quran, the proponents of theological arguments recall Muhammad's biography (si> ra).In defending the virtuous character of the Prophet, Mahmud and Ali present an episode in the si> ra, according to which the Prophet was scorned by the Meccans and the people of T{ a> 'if.The Prophet, however, had no intention to take any revenge on them.Instead, he prayed to God for them.Mahmud also recalls the accounts of the conquest of Mecca, which, Mahmud highlights, was performed via a peaceful tactic.No bloodshed occurred during this event. 62Ali writes further that even before Muhammad was appointed as a prophet, he was known among his people for his peace initiative.During the reconstruction of the Ka'ba, some Arab tribes squabbled with each other on the issues of who would lay the black-stone in its place.The Prophet found a solution-according to which Muhammad put the stone in a cloak, which these tribes held together, and then the Prophet put the stone in its place. 63Ali also presents the account of the Hudaybiyya treaty, whose content the Prophet obeyed, although it was disadvantageous for Muslims.All these historical records prove that the Prophet is a peace lover, whose examples all Muslims have followed.However, the cartoonists expected Muslims to react harshly to their works in order to justify their stereotype suggesting that all Muslims are hardliners, irrational, and emotional. 64he above arguments by showing Muhammad's virtuous image portrayed in the si> ra sound promising to counter his later horrific image in the hands the Danish cartoons.But, there was a gap between the opinions and reality.If Muhammad was depicted as a peaceful prophet, one may ask why the Muslims' protests against the cartoons in Indonesia became chaotic and even leading to violence.

Glimpse at the 'twisted' context
In the opinions released by the proponents of theological arguments the Danish and European context are twisted.To begin with, Ali and Husaini comment on the freedom of expression, on which the arguments for publishing the cartoons have been based.Ali questions the meaning of freedom of expression as perceived by the 'West.'For Ali, insulting religious leaders, such as Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses, is not what the 'freedom of speech' means.Additionally, according to Ali, the meaning of this term, which excludes deeper consideration and responsibility, confused the 'West.'Ali goes further that freedom accompanied by hurting others' feeling is misleading. 65dditionally, Husaini exaggerates the bad situation in Europe, whose Christian population has always been haunted by the rapid development of Islam.The fear of immigrants, associated with Islamization of Europe, has also been prevalent in the continent.This fear has led them to alienate Muslims with the intention to expel them from Europe-a situation which has also marked Denmark.Husaini in this vein attacks the Danish queen, Margrethe II, who designates Islam as a serious challenge to Western culture which should be confronted.The queen said: "We have to show our opposition to Islam and we have to, at times, run the risk of having unflattering labels placed on us because there are some things for which we should display no tolerance,"….She also said: "We are being challenged by Islam these years -globally as well as locally." 66In the end, Husaini uses Bjorn Moller's view posted in the website of The Christian Science Monitor to lend weight to his view that these cartoons were made to provoke sentiments against Muslims in order to alienate and label them as fanatics. 67ho all recall the Danish and European political and societal situation, wherein the cartoons were drawn.Then, they examine the widening gap between Islam and the West, particularly in the aftermath of the 11 th September tragedy.Their criticism, however, was not merely directed at the Danish, European society, and the 'West' in general, but also at Muslims themselves who often show their unfair judgement of the 'West.'Apparently, these writers attempt to balance their opinions that hatred and mockery did not exclusively belong to the Europeans, but both can reside in the hearts and actions of Indonesian Muslims, who often showed their misperception of the West.

Interpreting the 'mocking' pictures
Those who rely on reasoning and draw cultural arguments also dare to discuss the images of the cartoons openly.Three writers-Pamuntjak, Goenawan Mohamad, and Asa-comment on the pictures specifically, e.g. one depicting Muh} ammad's head attached with a bomb and the other showing him yelling: "stop stop, we ran out of virgins."According to Pamuntjak, the first picture clearly associates Islam with violence, thus insulting all Muslims. 78For Pamuntjak, this picture indicates nothing but an absolutist attitude of the cartoonist.The second picture, Pamuntjak writes, annoys the feminists, from whose perspective one may see that the cartoon only perpetuates the unjust position of women, who will serve as mere rewards for the suicide bombers in the hereafter.
In showing his criticism to the cartoons, Mohamad says that it is true that all cartoons are made for the purpose of mockery.However, what the Danish cartoonists have depicted is a stereotype.The Muhammad whom these cartoonists draw is not the Prophet whom all Muslims have always imagined.These cartoons convey nothing but the cartoonists' own fear, stereotype, and insult to the "other"-an attitude that the Danes in general have adopted, to various degrees.
On the other hand, according to Asa, the pictures seen in the cartoons are only 'wild imagination'. 79For Asa, were the Prophet himself still alive, he would have just smiled in seeing the cartoons and would have let these cartoonists receive lessons from their own community.In this vein, Asa tries to present Muhammad's 'true image,' not merely condemning the vilifying pictures shown in the Danish cartoons.
Interestingly, Pamuntjak, on the other hand, summons Muslims to learn from the Christian tradition in drawing Jesus, whose depictions vary due to various perspectives of the painters and to the local contexts in which the painters live.In fact, not all pictures show the positive side of Jesus, but this does not decrease his position in the heart of true Christians.Sober reactions to the cartoons are thus advisable.80

Imagining the Danish and European context
To understand the local Danish and European context, Djumala specifically underlines the problem of religious and ethnic integration in many European countries.Djumala takes the riot in Paris as an example of anti-Muslim sentiment. 81In the aftermath of the tragedy of 11 th September, the sentiments against Islam in Denmark, like in other Western countries, also grew. 82The Danish cartoons, according to Djumala, were published against this backdrop.
Mohamad also detects a strong conservatism in Denmark. 83He takes the case of two Lutheran pastors, Jesper Langballe and Soren Krarup, members of Danish parliament who said that Islam is like a cancer in Denmark. 84Mohamad likens their conservatism to that of the MUI (Indonesian Ulema Council), all of whom stand against multiculturalism.Note that the council pronounced various edicts containing counterproductive elements to pluralism, such as an edict prohibiting pluralism and liberalism (h}aram) and other edicts banning minority sects branded heretics, such as Ah}madiyyah, Shi'ite, and Lia Eden Salamullah group. 85e 'West' and the 'East' relation beyond the cartoons For some Indonesian writers, the cartoons controversy recalled the West and East relation.Hasyim, for example, sees the Danish cartoons still almost all Muslim countries are former colonies of the West, leading to Muslims' feeling of inferiority complex, which, among other things, has fuelled their anger, which was not solely directed at the cartoons, but at the West in general. 92It is unsurprising that many Muslims, Mohamad goes further, still felt being threatened by the more powerful 'West,' although it is never clear which 'West' they mean.Mohamad in this vein is critical that many Muslims hold a 'conspiracy theory', by which the West was often seen as a single monolithic power bent on destroying Islam.

Weakening the struggle for the freedom of expression and multiculturalism
There is another blunder in the publication of the cartoons, which, according to many Indonesian writers, will only weaken the struggle for the free speech and multiculturalism.For Bayuni, the grave mistake committed in this publication is that even some proponents of free speech will distance themselves from it.The public has therefore been forced to the position of either condemning or defending the publication, allowing almost no middle ground stance.Bayuni goes further that fundamentalists 93 will easily point to these cartoons "as examples of what freedom of expression can do to society."To quote Bayuni's words, "they will constantly refer to these cartoons as a compelling example of why free speech is bad for society." Sambazy, on the other hand, points to the twisted meaning of freedom of speech in the arguments of the proponents of the Danish car- toons.In fact, their publication shows nothing but 'racism' 94 and the adoption of 'double standards' attitude. 95Furthermore, Sambazy also shows the way the work of Philippe J. Rushton received some protests in the 'West'. 96Among the conclusion drawn by Rushton is that the Caucasians have lower intelligence than that of the Mongoloid Asians.To Sambazy, the insulting aspect in the cartoons was even worse than Rushton's observation.
In line with Sambazy, Suryodiningrat argues that the publication of cartoons has nothing to do with the freedom of expression, but with 'malice.'The publication, to Suryodiningrat, does not offer a form of satire-which refers to a social critique-but a mere vilification.

Conclusion
This paper does not specifically addresses the twelve Muhammad Danish cartoons and the cartoonists, whose use of symbolism has malicious ends by vilifying the subjects.Rather, this paper focuses on the way in which the Indonesian public reacted against the publication of the mocking cartoons and the way in which they gave meanings to them.In fact, the twelve cartoons have triggered heated global public debates, between East and West, Muslim world and Europe.Furthermore, the twelve images vilifying Muhammad have caused a crisis, whose solution needed political negotiation, trans-national communication, and diplomacy.In Indonesia, in the aftermath of Soeharto's fall from power, from which the reform era started, the public domain has become a place where every-one is set free to convey opinions-a new freedom which the Indonesians never enjoyed during the New Order period.All in all, once the images of the cartoons reached Indonesian audience, through the online media, various different interpretations were displayed in the public.In the newly reform period of Indonesia where the process of democratization was interestingly concomitant with the rise of radicalism, responses to the Danish cartoons featured warring different ideologies in the public.Many groups raised their voices, through which they defended their stances and ideologies.It is also true that the reaction against the cartoons represented political, social, and religious situation in the country.Additionally, the reactions portrayed the battle in the public sphere, where various ideologies competed against each other in the newly free public domain.
Once again, for the Indonesian audiences, the Danish Muhammad cartoons were not just cartoons with their humorous, offensive, and mocking elements by exaggerating certain parts of the subjects.For the above Indonesian writers, on the other hand, these cartoons had to be responded to seriously, as they were related to many crucial issues: faith, East-West relations, freedom of speech, and multiculturalism.
Nonetheless, after reading the fourteen selected pieces above by Indonesian intellectuals and activists, we can find two tendencies in their arguments: arguments returning to theological formulation and the others relying on cultural values.Those who use theological arguments regard the cartoonists and the West as a single entity, which these cartoonists represent as wanting only to destroy Islam.For them, the West is only one monolithic entity; so is Islam.The proponents of theological arguments seem to serve as the mouthpieces for those who protested against the cartoons violently.
With the spirit of Islamism, radicals demonstrated nothing but outrage.Their standard of morality, by which the sacred symbol of Muhammad was defended, was under assault.This was indeed the opportunity that they could seize in order to both promote their Islamist ideology and attack those who opposed them.Furthermore, they claimed that their voice represent Islam and all Muslims in general.In fact, most of Indonesian Muslims, ignoring the case which was not their immediate interest, were reluctant to take their position.It can be said that they are silent moderate Muslim majority.
It is true that the proponents of cultural arguments, who also declared themselves as the defenders of free speech and multiculturalism, denounced the publication of the cartoons, branding them as signs of racism, xenophobia, and discrimination.However, their arguments are not simplistic.In order to grasp the Danish, European, and Western contexts, they draw various sources including history, art, traditions, literary works, political, sociological, and economic factors.Notwithstanding their critical attitude to the cartoons, their criticism is directed even at their own society, i.e. self-reflection through which they recalled Muslims' misperception of the West.
However, it appears that those who hold cultural arguments still failed to draw a clear distinction between Islam as 'a theological system' and 'Muslims.'So far self-criticism from the above writers is directed at Muslims' attitude to the West, but not at Islamic theology.In fact, they always mention the term 'Islam' to refer to both Islamic theology and Muslims.This, however, does not address a more critical issue, that is Muslims' uncritical attitude to their own religion with justification of Islamic theology.In the public debates of the Muhammad Danish cartoons, one fails to find a serious criticism to Islamic theology.In this vein, moderate and liberal Muslim still failed to differ themselves from their conservative and radical counterparts in that Islamic theology remains untouched.