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PacNet #54 – Indonesia’s Decade of Democracy Deserves U.S. Recognition and Support

As the U.S. election season swings into high gear, millions of Americans are following every detail of the presidential campaign.  Few, however, are paying attention to Indonesia as it prepares for elections in 2009.  Indonesia may be the world’s fourth most populous country, third largest democracy and home to the world’s largest community of Muslims, but it is also the most important country Americans know virtually nothing about.  They should take notice.  Over the past decade, Indonesia has undergone a remarkable political transformation that clearly refutes the proposition that democracy and Islam are incompatible.