CORRESPONDENCErnLetter FromrnIndonesiarnby Doug BandowrnModern Religious WarsrnThe weathered boatman peered out atrnthe three Westerners as we ehmbcd intorna small water taxi to cross the bay fromrnthe cit}’ of Ambon to the airport. “You’rernfrom America? Send us arms. The Mu,slimsrnarc bad.” He used his hands to indicaterna rifle as we pulled away from shore.rnAmbon, the provincial capital of diernMoluccas, or Spice Islands, is now largelyrnquiet. The cit}’ is blanketed with policernand militar- units, which hae suppressedrnmost intercommimal violence.rnThe remains of war are present everywhere,rnhowever. A few^ blocks from ourrnhotel, street barricades separate Chri,stiaurnand Muslim sections of town.rnYou enture into cnem’ territory atrnvour peril. W’lhle returning from Muslimrnterritor’, our interpreter, a Christianrnhotel manager named Theny Barlola,rnmentioned that it was the first time hernhad been in that area in three years. HerninitialK- hesitated to accompan us, exclaiming:rn”If I go, tlie’ will kill me, the)rnwill take me awa.” But he relented whenrnthe Muslim authorihes sent a van for us.rnBetween the sections lie several blocksrnof no man’s land, ruined buildings thatrnonce housed Chrishans and Muslims, asrnwell as a thriing Chinese business district.rnThe remains of gutted two- andrnthree-storv buildings stand as silent sentinels.rnBits of wall surround the debris ofrnwar: rusty corrugated roofing, dentedrndishes, skeletons of sewing machines,rnburned motorbikes, bent bed frames,rnweathered chairs, shattered bricks.rnMan people, especially in outlyingrnillages, have ended up in refugee camps.rnThev rely on outside organizations forrnhelp —for instance, Chrishan FreedomrnInternational (CFD, which has proidedrnconstruction tools and fishing equipment.rnOthers hae come back to lie inrnneighboring homes that were ouK’ damaged.rnA few businesses hae reopened,rnbut the large bank building at the cornerrnsits acant. . makeshift wooden crossrnmarks the spot where a church once sat.rnAlthough the eit is generalh qiuet,rnthe terror of mob murder hangs in thernshadows. Barlola, a bright, well-dressedrn35-ear-old, describes the nrood last earrnas one of “panic.” For a time, he consideredrnheading for the mountains.rnSo did C.J. Boehm, a Dutch missionar-rnwho has spent more than 30 ears inrnIndonesia. He works at the crisis centerrnof the diocese of Amboina, which sitsrnnext to a Catholic church on a bus’ streetrnin the Christian section of town. Whenrn’iolence engulfed the cit last Jime,rnBoehur and 235 frightened parishionersrnpacked their bags and w ere read to flee.rn”There was onlv one escape route,” hernsaid —a narrow road up into the hills.rnThev did not hae to use it: In fliis case,rnflic police and military did their jobs, andrnthe Muslim warriors neer came.rnWifli an estimated 5,000 to 8,()()0 peoplerndead and as man as 500,000 refugeesrncreated since Januarv 1999, war-wearinessrnpenades the Moluccas. Both sidesrnspeak of reconciliation, but flie two communitiesrnremain far apart.rnEconomic stagnation hangs oer therncity. Haddi Abdullah Soulisa, the 80-rn’car-old head ot Ambon’s Muslim conrmunit,rncomplains: There is “no school,rnno work, people are hungr in flreir belh’.rnHow do vou then do reconciliation?”rnEcononric dcxelopment was a easualt}’rnof flic conflict. Muslim mobs targetedrnbusinesses owned bv ethnic Chinese.rn”Most of the traders here were Chinese,”rnsavs Boehm. “Almost all hae left.”rnViolence is pandemic throughout fliisrnpohglot nation. What distinguishes thernfighting in the Moluccas is that it grewrnout of flic Muslim-Christian tensions thatrnpcrade Indonesia. As militar spokesmanrnCraito Usodo, a rear air marshall,rnexplains, “flie case in Molucca is far differentrnfrom those in other parts of therncountry’ since it invohes religions matters.”rnThe first round of violence grew out ofrna spat in Januar 1999 beheen a bus dri-rner and passenger. Man who hed onrnthe islands quiekh- lost their taste forrnkilling. Then the fighting took on a largerrn—and more ounuous —religious dimension.rnUpward of 4,500 fighters of ArernLaskar jihad, or “Holv Warrior ‘l’roo]3s,”rnflocked to the island.rnIn Januarv 2000, more than 80,000rnMuslims marched in Jakarta to denrand arnjihad, or holy war, against Chrishans; parliamentrnspeaker Amien Rais, originalK arnmember of the governing coalition, appearedrnat flie rally, announcing fliat “Ourrnpafieuce has limits.” The Moluccas becomerna cause for Muslims; Christiansrntold me that thev have identified fightersrnfrom Afghanistan, Moro Islands (thernPhilippines), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.rnThe Laskar Jihad played a particiflarhimportantrnrole.rnAs a result, religious sites hae been targetedrnfor attack, wifli some 400 churchesrndestroed. Human casualties includernnot onlv dead and wounded, but forcedrnconversions (principally to Islam) and coercirne male and female circmncisiou.rnMoreover, Jaffar Uniar Thalib, head ofrnflie Jihad forces, has formally called forrnthe imposifiou of “Syariat Islam,” or Islamicrnlaw, at least in areas cleared ofrnChristians.rnReligion also split flic seeuritv forces.rnMuslim attacks on Christians in thernMoluccas coincided wifli the collapse ofrnflie central government’s aufliorit}’. Evenrnafter iolence erupted in the Moluccas,rnhowcer, Christians were able to defendrnthemselves. But then the Muslimsrngained the backing not only of flie I .askarrnJihad forces, but of man- soldiers.rn”In most cases, iiidi’iduals, and inrnsome cases whole units, because thernwere afraid, or cowards, did nothing,”rnsavs Boehm. Some siiuplv stood Iw whilernJihad forces arrixed. “The military hasn’trndone anvthiug,” complained one Christianrnleader, who insisted on aiioiiuiih-, inrnan interxiew last ear. in his iew (andrnfliat of several ofliers), the Jihad couldn’trnlune entered the Moluccas wifliout fliernmilitar’s eomplicitx. Other soldiersrnturned over their weapons to Muslims.rnFinalK, “some w ere among flic attackers,”rnsavs Boehm.rnAlfliough Muslims appeared to be flicrnchief beneficiaries of outside intervenfioii,rnsome police were more inclined tornhelp the Christians. ‘I here were eenrnclashes between military and police.rnCraduallv, the securih forces seem to bernmoving back to neutralitv. Unfortunatc-rnIv, sporadic fighfing confinues, and fiirtherrnkilling could flare up at au’ time.rnBofli sides continue to prepare for war.rnAlthough flic violence has receded, flierni4/CHRONICLnSrnrnrn