Reporters on the Job

October 5, 2005

Tip of an Indonesian Iceberg: The genesis of today's story about Indonesia's battle to define Islam was prompted by a moment of curiosity, and became something of a revelation to correspondent Tom McCawley.

Tom was working on another assignment with a photographer who mentioned that he'd seen a blockade outside the headquarters of Liberal Islam Network. Tom made a few calls, and realized he'd stumbled on a defining war of ideas.

"It's easy to cover breaking news events and not ever see these major subterranean battles between people with different visions of the same faith. It's theoretical but there are real practical consequences," he says.

David Clark Scott
World editor