While many Americans see their country as the shining example of democracy in the world, Indonesia has created a dynamic democracy in the world's largest Islamic state.
Addressing the topic, Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia Theodore Friend came to International House yesterday to share his opinions on the present and future of the country.
International House President Oliver Franklin introduced Friend as a "Renaissance man" not only because of Friend's achievements as an academic, but also because of "his ability to make you feel comfortable when he is talking to you."
Friend, who has spent a number of years in Indonesia, began by comparing Islamic nations around the world to Indonesia. He then covered Indonesian democracy and its history, followed by Islam in Indonesia.
According to Friend, 147 million people voted in the last Indonesian elections, while only 118 million people voted in the recent 2004 election in America.
"Even a satay vendor would ask himself 'Who am I going to vote for and why?'" Friend said.
Friend also expressed interest in Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party -- for which 40 percent of political candidates in the previous election were women -- which was brought together by Indonesian youth volunteers.
Though Muhammad Kamran, a student from Drexel, did not agree with everything Friend said, he did say that the talk was very "insightful," especially since Friend "lived there ... did a lot of research ... and got in touch with other Islamic people."
Nadeem Ali-Khan -- who is originally from London and who currently works at the Wistar Institute -- expressed a similar opinion, saying that "he was a great speaker." However, he did mention that Friend's description of the characteristics of Islam in Indonesia can in fact be applied to many other countries that Friend did not mention.
When asked about what he thought about Indonesia's economic future, Friend said that he did not want to draw a conclusion, but he did say that Indonesia has "reached the state of democratic sophistication."
College senior Sheena Soen and Vice President of Philadelphia's Indonesian Students Association Hendrik Soewatdy were both impressed by Friend's combination of his personal experience in Indonesia with the perspective of a foreigner.
"It was interesting getting a third person's view," said Soewatdy, who is a Temple senior.
Friend spoke to an audience of about 30 people mostly made up of international students from Penn, Drexel and Temple.
Friend is the former president of Swarthmore College and has recently published his latest book, Indonesian Destinies.
