Wahid's Greatest Achievement and why Indonesia will be a better and open-minded nation than Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand!!!!
History will probably record that Wahid's greatest achievement was to face down extremists on both sides, but particularly within the Muslim community. He insisted that the two great Muslim ''schools'' of Indonesia - his own Nahdlatul Ulama, with 40 million members, and the 29 million-member Muhammjadiyah - retain moderate and inclusive goals. He spoke out against extremism, including against the Jemaah Islamiyah group which, prior to the 9/11 attacks on the US and its Bali bombings, was attacking Christians and non-Islamic targets with murderous bombs across Indonesia.
Wahid's world travels, always with an entourage and often colourful, emphasised his belief that men and women, and their nations, should receive equal treatment.
His frequent request to Indonesians and to world leaders was that ''Upholding democracy is one of the principles of Islam''. He made enemies among extremist groups with such talk.
But largely as a result of his personality, the world's most populous Muslim country did, indeed, become a democracy and help to lead the worldwide battle against murderous extremists at the same time.
