Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja – Indonesia's largest Islamic organization is enlisting hundreds of religious teachers to fight the spread of radicalism in high schools and universities.
The Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which has about 40 million members, will train the teachers to use knowledge and reasoning to convince their students not to join any terrorist group.
Umaruddin Masdar, who is heading the initiative, said the group would start in Java, home to around 60 percent of Indonesia's population of 238 million.
Last weekend, some 250 clerics and 20 students attended the first NU workshops in Yogyakarta – by understanding the rationale behind Islamic teachings, they will hopefully be able to promote peaceful Islam with confidence.
"Many local clerics were outsmarted by militant intellectuals who descended on their villages and spread radical ideology," Umaruddin said.
The militant clerics come armed with college degrees and argue convincingly. The village clerics, who are usually less learned, are often no match, Mr Umaruddin told The Straits Times. "We can no longer afford to be sporadic in our efforts," he said.
For example, clerics and community leaders need to be able to explain why killing innocent people, even non-believers, is wrong. "In war," Umaruddin said, "Prophet Muhammad forbids his followers to kill enemies who are cornered and helpless."
The NU has the support of the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Professor Abdurahman Mas'ud, who heads the ministry's research department, said developing a culture of peace and promoting citizens' love of their country were important ways to fight radicalism.
This concerted move by the NU follows worrying reports that small radical cells are infiltrating college campuses and recruiting high-school science students to help them make bombs. The militants have proved highly organized, even sending out questionnaires to students.
They "tend to choose students who are weak in religious knowledge and whose ideology can be bent," said Broto Wardoyo, who manages a terrorism study program at the University of Indonesia.
A recent series of book bombs distributed to well-known figures in Jakarta was allegedly the work of former journalist Pepi Fernando and his one-time college mates. An 18-year-old high-school graduate was recruited to be the suicide bomber in one of the attacks on two luxury hotels in Jakarta in July 2009.
Indonesian counterterrorism forces have made great strides in cracking down on large terrorist groups, including South-east Asia's Jemaah Islamiah. The organization masterminded attacks such as the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people.
However, other, disparate cells continue to thrive. "Everyone must get involved. Schools and universities must have better curricula to nurture greater feelings of nationalism," Broto said.