The Foreign Service Journal, November 2010

N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 future. Flawed Diplomacy provides readers with a de- tailed look at a crucial issue — one which affects, and will continue to affect, politics the world over. Career FSO Victor Comras is an expert on interna- tional sanctions and efforts to counter terrorism. He served as one of five monitors, chosen by U.N. Secre- tary-General Kofi Annan, overseeing the enforcement of Security Council antiterrorism measures. A prolific writer and radio and television commentator, he cur- rently lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Understanding Islamin Indonesia: Politics and Diversity Robert Pringle, University of Hawaii Press, 2010, $22, paperback, 220 pages. It often comes as a surprise to people that Indonesia — a coun- try located in East Asia, not the Middle East — has the largest Muslim population in the world (more than 230 million). As a rising power and a democracy, Indonesia is set to grow in impor- tance. Yet the country’s history and politics are not very widely known. Robert Pringle aims to remedy this problemwith his new book, Understanding Islam in Indonesia: Politics and Diversity. With a focus on the development of Islam, Pringle explores Indonesia’s colonial past, its re- cent history and the newest developments taking place in the country. Indonesian Islam developed in its own unique cir- cumstances, with the first confirmed arrival of the reli- gion in the 13th century. (The country would later be ruled by the Dutch and the Japanese before gaining in- dependence.) Pringle weaves a narrative thread that traces these developments and their impact on Islam in the country. Most valuably, he elucidates modern Indonesia’s reli- gious diversity, religion’s connection with politics and its role in society and politics. Understanding Islam in Indonesia helps the reader to do exactly what its title promises. A historian and author, retired FSO Robert Pringle served in Jakarta in the 1970s. He specializes in Islamic issues.