15 July 2012

By Ahmed Widad

The American Government will be building a new Embassy building in Indonesia costing 450 million USD. The American Embassy building, which is located in the area of South Medan Merdeka Street No.4 Central Jakarta, will be modernized by using high technology and standard in terms of design and space planning.

The new building with 10 floors and an area of 36,000 square meters (3.6 ha) will involve 5000 workers and will only be completed by the year 2017. This Embassy will accommodate the staffs of the Embassy and the US mission to ASEAN in Jakarta.

Of course, the construction of the American Embassy building resulted in rejections amidst the Indonesia society. It is because, all this while America is not a country that is friendly, in fact its is openly fighting against the Muslims.

This was raised by Farid Wajdi in the Halqah Islam and Civilization (HIP) 40th Edition, entitled "To Be Wary Of The American Military base In The Heart Of The Capital" at Adhiyana Wisma Antara, Jakarta.

"We don't care if America is a friendly country, the problem is, America is not a friendly country, America is a colonialist country which in Islamic fiqh Islam belongs to the category of muharriban fi'lan which means a kafir country that is clearly fighting the Muslims," said this Secretary General of the HT Indonesia, Wednesday (18/7/2012).

He analogizes America as that of a robber who comes up to his victim, so is it appropriate that if a robber is coming, he is instead facilitated to finish off his victim.

"Why must we reject? If we have a house, and a robber comes into our house, do we kick out the robber or offer him coffee? Or do we provide a special room, and then we allow the robber in that room to do anything, including to sharpen his knife so that the knife is sharp for him to be able to slaughter the host? How's our attitude?"

"Of course, as a normal person, the people who still have al izzah (honour) we will reject a robber like this. Now, that is more or less how the presence of the American Embassy in Indonesia is. As a muharriban fi'lan country Indonesia should not make any diplomatic relation with America, and the status of a relation with America is the relation of war," he disclosed in front of hundreds of audiences.

"According to him, when the Embassy of a country is bigger, it clearly indicates the interests and activities of that country is also higher. If the activities of that country is higher, it means the interests of that country on the region is higher," he explained.

And then he disclosed that the entrenchment of the US marines as the guards in the American Embassy is a proof that the construction of the American Embassy is not an ordinary construction but is potential to be a military base.

"On average, the American Embassies in the world are guarded by the marines. Now, this is actually protested by many countries, how can an Embassy be guarded by a military force? Actually the security could be sufficiently provided by the police in the area of the country concerned or the security guards, but why then America makes the marines as the guards for the American Embassy?

If we look at the development of the latest American Embassy, later there will be such thing called Marine Security Guard quarters, namely a kind of place where the marine forces of America could fester there," he said.

[Ahmed Widad]