Indonesia will be at the center of the world’s attention when US President Barack Obama pays a state visit to the country of 17,000 islands where he spent four years of his childhood.

Obviously, security will be very tight as a consequence of the recent bombings of two US-managed hotels in the heart of Jakarta. I am certain, however, from personal experience that the Indonesian people will do their very best to make the trip both safe and happy for the US president who is considered as an adopted citizen of Indonesia.

Despite the predictable post-election protests from losing candidates and sporadic acts of violence, Indonesia is rapidly consolidating its democratic institutions and growing its economy. The country got kudos from a US weekly magazine Newsweek in a recent article (July 20, 2009) entitled “Two Cheers for the Thinking General.” Describing the results of the recent elections in early July, Newsweek reported: “Only 10 years after the country emerged from a dictatorship, some 176 million voters went to the polls in free and fair elections and handed the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a resounding victory of about 60 percent. SBY, as he is known, amply earned his second term. When he first took office five years ago, violent separatists threatened Indonesia’s integrity, homegrown terrorists sowed chaos, piracy thrived in the Strait of Malacca, and the economy was still reeling from the devastating 1998 Asian crisis. Today Indonesia is the most vibrant and stable democracy in the region and one of the few economies predicted to grow by more than four percent in 2009. As stock markets elsewhere were tumbling this year, Jakarta soared by 50 percent, and Morgan Stanley called for Indonesia to be included in the BRIC group alongside developing world heavyweights Brazil, Russia, India, and China. As an economist, I can only say Amen to these glowing words of Newsweek.

Beyond its success in politics and economics, Indonesia has also to be commended for the religious freedom that it grants its citizens despite the fact that it is a predominantly Muslim nation. In a population of some 240 million, there are 24 million Christians and Hindus, more than 300 different ethnic groups, and some 800 dialects. As columnist Joe Cochrane wrote in the same Newsweek issue, “Islam is just one of five officially recognized religions. Most Indonesians don’t define themselves by their faith but by nationalism and regional pride. Religion comes second or third, one reason Muslim-based parties consistently get trounced at the polls, including during April’s legislative elections.” This diversity and respect for religious differences can be attributed to one of the pillars of the strongman President Suharto’s rule, pancasila, the country’s nationalist ideology which mandates the equal treatment of all the country’s religious and social groups.

Indonesia would get praises from Pope Benedict XVI for religious freedom.

In his recent encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), the Holy Father makes reference to religious freedom as a very important component of attaining integral human development: “There is another aspect of modern life that is very closely connected to development: The denial of the right of religious freedom. I am not referring simply to the struggles and conflicts that continue to be fought in the world for religious motives, even if at times the religious motive is merely a cover for other reasons, such as the desire for domination and wealth. Today, in fact, people frequently kill in the holy name of God, as both my predecessor John Paul II and I myself have often publicly acknowledged and lamented. Violence puts the brakes on authentic development and impedes the evolution of peoples towards greater socio-economic and spiritual well-being. This applies especially to terrorism motivated by fundamentalism, which generates grief, destruction and death, obstructs dialogue between nations and diverts extensive resources from their peaceful and civil uses.”

The deadly terrorist bombings in Bali and Jakarta in the last few years have been politically motivated. I have personal friends who have been converted from Islam to Christianity without being persecuted.

In fact, they are occupying important positions in society. A professional colleague of mine in economics, Mari Pangetsu, a Roman Catholic, is the Minister of Trade and Industry under President SBY. One of the most respected think tanks in the country, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has many top professional economists, political scientists and management experts who are Roman Catholics. Many Muslim families send their children to Catholic and other Christian schools. I can really attest to the religious freedom that prevails in the mainstream of Indonesian society. For comments, my e-mail address is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.