Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta – The United States and its allies should tread carefully in their recriminations of radical religious groups here, since over-emphasizing their potential threat may create unwarranted sympathy for these groups, a leading Islamic scholar warned.

Azyumardi Azra said such these diminutive groups would gain recognition if they were continually slammed by major powers. The goal of constraining these groups would only backfire in a seeming battle of David versus Goliath, and alienate moderate Muslims who may perceive it as a battle against Islam.

"US overreaction may ferment discomfort among moderate Muslims," Azyumardi, who is rector of the State Academy of Islamic Studies (IAIN) Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, said in his presentation at a seminar on the perception of Islam in Indonesia in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack.

While he did not accuse local groups like the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Lashkar Jihad, Hizb al-Tahrir and Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) of being involved in terrorist activity, he did however, in his paper identify them as those who have come "to the forefront in a more visible, vocal and militant manner" since September 11. While these groups "exert only a limited influence", they would try to make use of any possible issue related to Islam and Muslims for their own purposes."

Since the United States launched their war on terrorism the existence of radical groups has become a point of focus in the search for possible terrorist networks in the region. Singapore, for example, has charged that MMI leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is a ring leader of a terrorist network in Southeast Asia.

There have been media reports also that Washington is also looking more closely at radical elements in Indonesia. Indonesia, however, has maintained that there is little factual evidence of this despite their apparent militant stance. Foreign envoys have also urged the moderate Muslim majority here to be more vocal to counter perceptions of Indonesia as a haven for Islamic extremism.

In Wednesday's discussion, held jointly by IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah and the Canadian Embassy, it was pointed out that the two major grassroots Muslim organizations – Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama – which claim to encompass over 70 million members are still regarded as very moderate.

Azyumardi believes that the best weapon to combat radical elements is to strengthen and empower democratic elements within the Muslim mainstream. He also urged moderate Muslim organizations to take a stronger stance to counter public misperception.

After the discussions, Azyumardi told The Jakarta Post that it was also crucial to ensure that the legal system worked properly in handling such threats. "The government together with moderate Muslim groups must make sure that the law works."