Commentary by Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo, Jakarta – It seems that Americans are wondering why more and more Muslims in Indonesia are getting annoyed with the US, including "moderate" Muslims.

The New York Times published an article on September 3 entitled "Once Mild, Islam Looks Harsher In Indonesia". It said that the moderate strand of Islam in Indonesia is being eroded rapidly and wonders whether the country is becoming the "caliphate" of the 21st century.

Washington is sending experts, led by its former ambassador to Syria, Mr Edward Djerejian, to Indonesia to find out what is wrong and how the US could come up with a programme that would conquer the hearts and minds of Muslims in Indonesia.

It is highly debatable whether the moderate strand of Islam in Indonesia is becoming weaker, although more and more Muslims here are becoming impatient with America, including the moderates.

In the past, the majority of Muslims in Indonesia did not perceive the US in a negative way. On the contrary, many Muslim scholars and intellectuals who had gained the opportunity to visit the US and study there were very much in favour of America. Also at the Muslim grassroots level, there was scarcely a ripple of anti-Americanism – unlike today.

However, after the end of the Cold War and the defeat of communism by the West, many Muslims sensed a change in America's attitude towards Islam. They felt that the cordial relationship between the US and Islam, including Islam in Indonesia, was over, because the former American attitude was perceived to be less than genuine – more a strategic move to get Muslim support for Washington's struggle against the communist bloc.

The most radical change in the US attitude towards Islam began after September 11, 2001. Most Muslims in Indonesia condemned the terrorist acts, as much as they condemned the Bali and J.W. Marriott Hotel bombings. However, they felt that after the September 11 attacks, the US began to stigmatise Islam.

Regardless of many in the US denying the notion of a "clash of civilisations" following the terrorist acts, the feeling spread among Muslims that America was treating Islam very differently from before. It was as if Islam was replacing communism as American enemy No. 1, despite repeated denials by the US government.

It was as if terrorism only had an Islamic brand, although there had also been terrorism in Ireland and many other places involving non-Muslims. Muslims here have heard or experienced personally how Muslims in America are treated, or upon arrival there, and they do not like it.

In the eyes of moderate Muslims here, the US military offensive against Afghanistan was not so much an effort to eliminate Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, but more a move to safeguard US interests in resources.

Many realise that the group around President George W. Bush has for a long time planned to build an oil pipeline from Central Asia through Afghanistan to the Indian Ocean, but had failed to persuade the Afghan Taleban government to cooperate with the project.

To achieve its objectives, the US did not shy away from using aerial bombings, which caused many casualties among ordinary Afghans. The double standards and arrogance of power demonstrated by America were all too obvious, while the US constantly presses other nations to observe human rights strictly.

The attack on Iraq was a much stronger cause of annoyance. This act of war was a clear violation of international law and a clear rejection of the authority of the United Nations.

Hegemonic ambitions were obvious from the statements of US leaders. Many Americans denied the attack was aimed at controlling Iraqi oil. They said the objective was to liquidate Saddam Hussein's regime and to remould Iraq into a model of democracy that could influence the rest of the Middle East. Civilian casualties were worth the price. But for many Muslims here, this was all hypocrisy and arrogance.

We know many Americans are also frustrated with their own leaders. One is Mr Clyde Prestowitz, author of Rogue Nation (Basic Books, New York, 2003), who has also visited Indonesia and Malaysia. He wrote: "Strategically important and traditional practitioners of a liberal Islam, neither [Indonesia nor Malaysia] has significant ties with the Middle East. Yet few conversations could get past the Israeli-Palestinian imbroglio.

"Every night on television, they see US leaders holding pep rallies with Israeli leaders and Israelis using American weapons to attack Palestinian targets." The result, he added, "...is that many old friends of America conclude that the US is attacking Islam itself".

If America wants to be a hegemonic power that has the respect and trust of other nations, it must be a benign one and not cause a reaction of hate or fear.

Although Indonesia will not become a caliphate of the 21st century, considering that most Muslims do not favour replacing the Republic with an Islamic state, it will not be easy for America to have the majority of Indonesians side with it as long as it does not change its attitude vis-a-vis the world, and, in particular, Islam.

[The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network. The author is former governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) in Jakarta.]