Yenny Wahid Knows What a Martyr Really Is

Tonight as I flew to London, I had plenty of time to read the Weekend Wall Street Journal. Among the notable stories was a profile of a rarity: A muslim who has spoken out, loudly, against the twisted views that Islamofacists are putting out. Yenny Wahid is a prominent Muslim woman whose father is a respected and beloved Islamic scholar named Abdurrahman Wahid, who headed Indonesia’s largest Muslim cultural organization.

She makes the point that the main goal of radical Islam is the overthrow of muslim countries, especially Saudi Arabia, but the real “strategic plum would be Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world. “We are the ultimate target,’ she said, “That’s why the world should focus on Indonesia and help.’

“For a true definition of martyrdom, she points to the sacrifice of Riyanto, a young man who was sent to protect churches threatened with attacks during Christmas. When he discovered a bomb outside a church, he tried to throw it out of the way of the crowd, and was killed when it blew up. That’s the way to defend religion, Wahid argues, not by killing others but by defending others’ rights to practice their religion.”