THERE are similarities between US President George Walker Bush and the head of the Daarut Tauhid Pondok Pesantren (Islamic Boarding School), Abdullah Gymnastiar. Last week, both went on an overseas trip. While Bush came to Indonesia, Aa Gym—as he is called—left the country for Saudi Arabia. Yet when Bush invited Aa Gym to attend a dialog along with other religious leaders, he was rebuffed.

Nevertheless, the American President's four