Partial defense of Obama - yes, weird -
The Indonesian context is that they tossed an ethnic Chinese (non-Muslim) politician as Governor of Jakarta, and jailed him for blasphemy, because he made controversial statements about the Koran.
So there’s that. It could be veiled criticism of his hosts too.
Good observation. Indonesia is a multi-religion country. Sumatra is mostly Muslim. Borneo/Kalimantan Christian (thanks to my aunt, uncle, cousins). Bali is small but economically important and Hindu/Sikh. Most Muslims are moderate ... equal or more moderate than Singapore which they admire more than anything.
It is those moderate Muslims who keep electing Christians to office in Muslim areas. (Some moderate Muslims have been elected in Christian areas also.)
There is a small percentage of Muslims who are not moderate. They admire the Muslim radicals in the Philipines. You’d be surprised what a small, dedicated group can do when everyone else wants to play nice.