Muslim Big Macs

Muslim Big Macs...

October 26, 2001

Amid Anti-American Protests, Mr. Bambang Allah to Sell Big Macs in Indonesia

By JAY SOLOMON

Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia -- The hamburger king of Indonesia feared chaos after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Bambang Rachmadi owns a franchise chain of 85 McDonald's restaurants in this 85% Muslim land, and he knew the stores would be tempting targets of any anti-American protests.

So, the marketing whiz ventured a pre-emptive strike. "In the name of Allah, the merciful and the gracious, McDonald's Indonesia is owned by an indigenous Muslim," reads a six-foot-high, green banner Mr. Bambang draped outside one of his McDonald's in Jakarta. Arabic signs tell visitors that each sandwich sold is certified "halal," prepared according to Muslim laws. Among other things, that means no pork. On a recent afternoon, Islamic religious music mixed with a shouted call: "A Big Mac with fries!"

Mr. Bambang has been put in a tight spot by the U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan, whose Islamist government harbors Osama bin Laden. Anti-U.S. sentiment has swelled in response in Indonesia, the world's most-populous Muslim nation. Small but vocal Islamist groups have threatened to "sweep" Americans out of this country of 210 million people; one threatened to kill the U.S. ambassador. The nation's highest Islamic body has suggested Jakarta cut its diplomatic ties to Washington. Radicals bombed a Kentucky Fried Chicken store on the island of Sulawesi and pledged to damage other U.S. interests.

Stuck in the middle are bicultural Indonesians like Mr. Bambang, a Harley-Davidson-driving ex-banker who went to college in California and keeps Muslim prayer rugs in his spacious Jakarta office. As an owner of what he describes as the U.S.'s "most significant icon," the 50-year-old entrepreneur risks the ire of those seeking to strike McDonald's and other symbols of U.S. cultural and financial might.

But as the operator of McDonald's Indonesia for 10 years, Mr. Bambang also argues that what's good for the Golden Arches is good for Indonesia. His restaurants are now more Indonesian than American, he says, more Muslim than an agent of globalization. His 8,000 employees are Indonesians, the food (stressing chicken and rice) is mostly homegrown, and 5% of revenue is paid to McDonald's Corp.'s headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill. The beef comes mainly from New Zealand and Australia.

"What right do you have to attack my store," Mr. Bambang says he tells any potential troublemakers. "If you destroy it, you'll only destroy a job for a Muslim."

Mr. Bambang, whose home is in Jakarta, was at a conference in Spain when he learned of the attacks on the U.S., and quickly mobilized his staff in Indonesia to prepare for fallout. The country has been plagued by sectarian and communal violence since the fall of President Suharto in 1998, and McDonald's outlets have at times been caught in the crossfire. A number were destroyed during the riots that precipitated the authoritarian president's resignation, and Mr. Bambang says his country's newly minted democracy has just made Indonesia more unpredictable for businessmen like himself. "We had to have an action plan in place," he says.

Upon his return to Jakarta, he and his staff set out to convince Indonesians that his franchise chain is a locally owned, Muslim business. When anti-U.S. demonstrations began in the wake of the U.S.'s assault on Afghanistan, the marketing kicked into high gear.

Mr. Bambang had banners highlighting his ownership of the franchise done up in green, the color of Islam, and placed outside most McDonald's outlets. The staff prominently displayed photos of Mr. Bambang and his wife in Islamic dress -- with text noting that they had made the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, a trip obligatory for all Muslims able to undertake it.

Employees at many outlets were encouraged to wear "Muslim outfits," including headscarfs for female employees. Security guards were recruited from local Islamist organizations to keep the peace. To enhance credibility, some of the hired muscle was instructed to speak Arabic, the language of Mohammed, which isn't widely spoken by Indonesians.

Mr. Bambang admits to having some reservations about pushing the Muslim theme because some people might consider it "racist," but he says he felt obligated to "protect my staff and the facilities." One thing working in his favor: He had built up goodwill over the years by contributing food and lending restaurant facilities to mosques during the fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in November. His franchises (which don't serve goat) donate goats to be sacrificed in Muslim ceremonies.

"I really don't see the McDonald's restaurant as American, but one owned by an Indonesian and a Muslim," says Mohammad Ansorr, an administrator at Syuhada Mosque here in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta. Members of his mosque have dined at the local McDonald's to break their daily fasts at sundown during Ramadan, eating the chicken sandwiches and rice that McDonald's features in Indonesia.

Not everyone was won over. At midday on Oct. 10, about 100 members of the Indonesian Islamic Students Organization descended upon the Yogyakarta McDonald's branch to voice their distaste for the U.S. company. Carrying signs reading "Freeze U.S. Assets in Indonesia" and "Boycott U.S. Products," the students attempted to dissuade locals from entering the restaurant.

Store manager Desrianto, who like many Indonesians has only one name, hadn't yet put up the green banners touting the owner's Muslim faith. He tried to appease the mob by stressing the importance of the company to the local economy. The students didn't buy it.

"Neocolonialism is spreading through international businesses and breeding social injustices," says Ma'ruf Asli Bahkti, the organizer of the protest.

But the standoff ended peacefully, and Mr. Desrianto says he has bought insurance against future disturbances. The Yogyakarta branch has just hired the Ka'bah Youth Movement -- a group that advocates adopting Islamic law in the secular state of Indonesia -- to provide security. Ka'bah cadres normally busy themselves by shuttering nightspots they accuse of breaking Muslim strictures. Now, on some days, Ka'bah members stand outside the Yogyakarta McDonald's dressed in their trademark black uniform.

"We want to prevent anarchy," says group commander Lutfi Muhammad in an interview at his home, where a drawing of the late Ayotallah Khomeini of Iran hangs on the wall.

And so McDonald's continues to do brisk business at its Yogyakarta branch. On a recent Sunday, young women wearing Islamic headscarfs lined up to purchase chocolate-covered ice-cream cones. Elsewhere in Indonesia, anti-American sentiment has eased somewhat in recent days. President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government has begun arresting Islamic extremists who have threatened to harm U.S. citizens. The Indonesian media have started to examine how badly the Indonesian economy would be damaged if Jakarta cut ties with Washington, as radicals advocate.

Still, some refuse to swallow Mr. Bambang's message that McDonald's is good for Indonesia. Mr. Ma'ruf, the student activist, says the scarfs, the prayer music and the placards make him laugh. "It's a sign to me that Mr. Bambang doesn't understand what's really the problem in this country," he says.

-- Rin Hindryati contributed to this article.

Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@awsj.com1

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