The Foreign Service Journal, September 2013

36 SEPTEMBER 2013 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL ENGAGING MUSLIM LEADERS TO PROMOTE PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TIES Effective outreach must engage individuals representing a wide variety of viewpoints, not just those already sympathetic to our values and policies. BY THEODORE LYNG A mericans are schooled in the separation of church and state from a young age, and the United States has a long history of religious free- dom. In this context, U.S. govern- ment officials, including Foreign Service officers, are appropriately cautious about discussing religion in an official capacity. In recent years, however, the United States has begun to engage foreign audiences more forthrightly on religious free- dom, interfaith dialogue and tolerance. We also often engage religious organizations and leaders on issues of general foreign policy and as audiences for people-to-people outreach. This focus on the religious sphere grew in part out of efforts to refute false claims that United States foreign policy is inimical to Muslims, and that U.S. military engagement in Iraq and Afghani- stan sought to undermine Islam. On a more positive note, the high level of religiosity in the United States has proven attractive Theodore Lyng, an FSO since 1986, is political counselor in Jakarta. His previous assignments include Jakarta, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Guangzhou, Moscow and Washington, D.C. For his tireless efforts to persuade the State Department’s leadership of the need to engage with all groups within Indonesian civil society, he is this year’s win- ner of AFSA’s William R. Rivkin Award for constructive dissent by a mid-level Foreign Service officer. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of State or the U.S. government. FOCUS AFSA’S AWARDS PROGRAM in forging people-to-people ties in Indonesia. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, and a vibrant democracy, Indonesia is a natural partner in our dialogue on religion. An extraordinarily high percentage of Indonesians wor- ship regularly and say religion is important in their daily lives. At the same time, the vast majority of Indonesians believe in religious pluralism and tolerance. Many Indonesians who have visited the United States remark positively on the large number of houses of worship and the