*Overall, Indonesia being one of the most populous nation in the world who simply happen to be Islamic most likely has something to do on why it's portrayed as a fundamentalistic nation.

But the truth is - it just happen to be Islamic & that it just happen to have a big population just like any other South-East Asian nation.

And since it's a very big archipelago - more than twice the size of Thailand, or Vietnam, or the Philippines (all 3 countries have +75 million people), then you can expect Indonesia to have twice the population of the said countries.

Still, it continues to be portrayed as fundamentalistic especially in the aftermath of Sept. 11 'coz any major news network (especially in the U.S.) always mention Indonesia as "the largest Islamic nation in the world" sort of tying it to extremism.

Well, I hope this journal clarifies it 'coz I travelled here extensively.