Robert Small's new exercise in "Islam policy" conveniently ignores my detailed rebuttal of his initial presentation whose linchpin was that the Indonesian Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) party represented the apotheosis of Islamic "moderation." As I pointed out, Small's earlier claim was made because of an inadequate historical understanding of the NU on his part. NU's 1926 foundational principles which sanction Sharia-based Islamic supremacism, were reiterated and acted upon during the subsequent decades, through the present, resulting in such "moderate" outcomes as mass murderous jihadism against Indonesian non-Muslims (ethnic Chinese; Christians), and its ongoing avowed support for female genital mutilation, is "contributing" to rates of this misogynistic barbarity at well over 90% among Indonesian Muslim women. Not addressing those sad realities -- which shatter his premise altogether -- Small now "replies" by focusing on the personal probity of former President Wahid. But Small's latest...(Read Full Post)