Tunggadewa Mattangkilang – Anti-Islamic Defenders Front sentiment in Indonesia continued on Monday as residents in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, made it clear the hard-line group wasn't wanted in their city.

Following similar protests in Central Kalimantan and Jakarta, groups gathered under the Balikpapan City Kalimantan Society Forum said the FPI, as the hard-liners are known, were not welcome. The forum also demanded that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono disband the FPI.

"They often conduct raids, which is against the law, as if the state did not have law enforcers," said forum head Bayer Gabriel, addressing a rally in front of the City Hall. "We call on the president to disband the FPI and we reject their presence in Kalimantan."

The group read out a statement addressed to Balikapapan Mayor Rizal Effendi and the head of the East Kalimantan Legislative Council, Andi Burhanudin Solong. It said the FPI was a threat to the ethnic, religious and racial harmony in the community. He said the FPI was involved in violent activities that were against the law, and its presence in the city and province would only sow discord.

The FPI has long operated in Jakarta, raiding nightclubs seemingly with no fear of the police.

But an upsurge of anti-FPI sentiment has followed in incident on Feb. 11 in Palangkaraya, the capital of Central Kalimantan, when a group of Dayak tribesmen gathered at the airport to protest the arrival of FPI leaders who were flying in to open a branch office there. The plane was forced to land in neighboring South Kalimantan.

Officials there, including from the police and the military, and community and religious leaders issued statements supporting the banning of the FPI from Central Kalimantan. A similar anti-FPI protest took place in Jakarta last week.

Bayer said they did not oppose the group on religious grounds, but were concerned that it would undermine the pluralism of Kalimantan society, where it is not uncommon for members of the same family to come from different religions.

"We ask the police not to be afraid to take action against anarchic mass organizations. We only want peace in Borneo," he said. He called on city authorities not to issue permit for the FPI to register in the city.

The head of Balikpapan's national unity and political affairs office, Syaiful Bachri, said the FPI had not yet attempted to register with the city authorities. "Their past behavior will of course be part of our decision-making process," he said. "But as long as it does not go against the Constitution and Pancasila, they can register."

The Constitution provides equal footing for all six of the state-recognized religions. The state's Pancasila philosophy recognizes the value of plurality.

Home Affairs Minister Gamawan Fauzi has said the FPI is one violation away from having its license suspended. He said the ministry had issued a second warning letter when members of the group pelted the ministry with rocks last month in protest of the alleged decision to annul local bylaws banning alcohol sales.

Under the 1985 Law on Mass Organizations, the ministry monitors all civil organizations in the country and has the authority to disband any group that causes losses to the state. The FPI has been accused of using violent tactics to enforce its views of Shariah law.

Last month, an FPI leader in South Sulawesi was sentenced to five months in prison for the destruction of private property during a series of FPI-sanctioned raids on food stalls and restaurants operating during the fasting month of Ramadan. But cases of FPI members being brought to justice are rare.