MADRAS, India -- The bomb explosions that killed more than 180 people in Bali last Saturday night affirmed what Indonesia has long denied -- that terrorists are active in the country. For many months now, Indonesia's neighbors and Washington have urged Jakarata to get tough with extremists, particularly Abu Bakar Bashir, a Muslim cleric whose organization, Jemaah Islamiyah, wants to create an Islamic state. This group is said to have clear links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, one of whose members was arrested weeks ago in Indonesia.
The vast archipelago is one of a very few nations in which people practice an enlightened and moderate form of Islam. Admittedly, in the past few years there has been separatist violence, but foreigners have rarely been targeted.
Bali is a center of Hindu culture. The city has been named after a monkey god who appears as a character in the Indian Hindu epic of "Ramayana." Until the latest blasts, Bali's ties with the Muslim population have been almost cordial. In any case, such warmth has not been difficult to nurture and sustain.