ARTICLE: “Spread of Islamic Law in Indonesia Takes Toll on Women,” by Jane Perlez, New York Times, 27 June 2006, p. A6.

ARTICLE: “Indonesia Scolds U.S. on Terrorism Fight: Defense chiefs openly disagree on America’s actions abroad,” by Michael R. Gordon, New York Times, 7 June 2006, p. A6.

Great pair of stories on always fascinating Indonesia.

Working woman on street waiting for ride home from work, dressed in standard one might expect from any working woman: casual but utilitarian. She is hustled off, the article says, by brown-shirted “tranquility and public order officers” and charged with lewd conduct according to Shariah:

Her case has become a symbol of an increasingly impassioned tussle in Indonesia between those who favor the introduction of Shariah, or Islamic law--sometimes called Islamic-like laws--by local governments, and those that assert that this large Muslim country, recognized for its moderation and diversity, must hold firm to its secular Constitution of 1945.

There are strong similarities, I would argue, to this local-v-federal struggle in the history of the U.S. civil rights movement: local governments saying “this is how we do it around here” and the central government struggling to respect that desire without letting it ruin the social fabric of the nation as a whole.

As with U.S. civil rights, the strongest undercurrents here are sexual: in the U.S. it was the innate fear of black men “preying” on white women and in many Muslim states it is simply the perceived promiscuity of “dangerous” females imitating the nefarious and degenerate ways of the West.

Beyond that internal struggle, there is the larger strategic reality that Indonesia is a front-line state in the Long War, and as it moves in the direction of Core status, it will tell us much about how we should fight that Long War. As the world’s largest Muslim state, Indonesia is a serious lead goose on both the socio-economic and security fronts:

“Some Indonesia analysts view the United States as focused on the ‘search and destroy’ aspect of the war against terror, and feel that the United States has not focused sufficient attention to winning the ‘hearts and minds’ aspect of the struggle,” according to a study by the Congressional Research Service.

Actually, quite a few American analysts feel the same way.

So Rummy gets a a bit of lecture from his counterpart in Indonesia while visiting there recently. We should get used to such lectures. There will be many more in the future.

The New Core sets most of the new rules in economics, but expect the Seam States like Indonesia to set many of the new rules in security. It’s only natural, given the front-line status.