Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – First it was militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir. Now, the head of the country's largest Islamic organisation is saying it too: There is no such thing as the Jemaah Islamiah.
"The verdict of Bashir is proof that JI does not exist," said Mr Hasyim Muzadi, the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) chairman, a day after a court earlier this month acquitted Bashir of charges of leading the JI. The JI is just something made up by the Americans to corner the Muslims, Mr Hasyim said of the Al-Qaeda-linked group blamed for several bomb attacks and plots across South-east Asia.
His overnight transformation from a usually moderate voice of Indonesia's silent Muslim majority came under instant fire from Western diplomats, among them envoys from the United States and Australia. He hemmed and hawed and toned down his stance. But his actions were not surprising.
Nursing presidential ambitions while having to contend with a nasty internal rift that threatens to split the 40-million-strong NU, Mr Hasyim is going where many other religious leaders have boldly entered: the political stage. In fact, his predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, even managed a taste of the prized post of president.
The NU leader's transition has been amazing. Of late, he has been sounding more like a politician playing to the gallery than a hardline Muslim preacher.
Mr Hasyim has been tipped as a likely contender for the presidency or vice-presidency, at the least with backing from some major parties. For him, winning the support of Indonesia's moderate Muslims is not a problem, but winning over the hardline minority is. They see him as a "US lackey". He has been one of the most important non-governmental figures in Indonesia supporting the US-led global war against terrorism.
Established in 1926, the NU oversees the hundreds of Islamic boarding schools across the country that have produced several generations of NU thinkers, including Mr Abdurrahman and the latest crop of liberal Islamic scholars.
Its inclusive and moderate trademark has made Mr Hasyim a regular guest speaker on Indonesia's brand of Islam at various government and private functions in the US and other Western countries.
Mr Hasyim has spoken out against religious militancy. So his remarks last week could hurt not only his image in the eyes of the West but also the image of Indonesia as home to peace-loving, moderate Muslims. For now, he appears to have softened his new militant talk, but for how long is anybody's guess.