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Do a quick Google on Prof. Behrend and discover his fundamental support of Islam, as well as his own Sufism. In a word, TB is an apologist for Islam, routinely seeking to minimise and "explain" its more violent and fanatical expression.
In the real world, Israel is here to stay. Elaborate fantasies involving its dissolution are absurd, no matter how elaborately expressed in the academic-speak that TB reverts to (here and elsewhere) when he's challenged on this suggestion.
TB's assertion that Indonesia is an example of democracy and Islam peacefully coexisting is equally fanciful. Whether you wish to ascribe the bombings, beheadings (nuns in Poso), and increasing Islamisation of the nation over the last 15 years to politicking (cf. "Civil Islam" and its discussion of Suharto's attempt to woo Islamist voters in his twilight years of power), or to religion-inspired fanaticism, misses any meaningful point. Democracy barely works in theory in Indonesia, and not at all in practice. If the pesantren in central Java continue turning out graduates schooled in the Koran and little else, expect the world's largest Muslim state to continue its march toward Islamofascism. Dan kalau itu terjadi, ndak ada salah satu bule yang akan hidup dengan aman.
(And no, a presidential election in which Suharto's Golkar party retained or recovered most of its power and influence does not constitute an example of democracy in action. It was KKN with a veneer of free-choice.)
Anyhoo, as Salon tends so often to give voice to those in opposition to Israel, I echo the sentiment that this article offers the whiff of a suggestion of some balance.
