Vaudine England, Jakarta – With little fanfare, President Abdurrahman Wahid's Government has so far managed to forestall efforts by radical Muslim groups to send a "jihad" fighting force to the Maluku Islands.
The Ahlus-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum, a loose grouping of hardline Muslims, admitted at the weekend that its attempts to send 10,000 fighters to the islands were being successfully foiled by police in the port of Surabaya in East Java.
At the same time, Mr Wahid fired a broadside at people claiming to be true defenders of Islam, slamming those who abused Islamic symbols and ideas for their own interests.
"Now there are people, who just because they wear robes, use swords and wear turbans, claim themselves as religion [Islam] defenders," said Mr Wahid. "In fact, they are not defenders at all, Those who claim to defend the religion by carrying swords, actually do not know much about the religious teachings."
Mr Wahid, a revered Muslim preacher, is well placed to quash more extreme elements of a faith which he personally interprets with tolerance and learning. True defenders of Islam, he said, are those who work to improve people's welfare and prosperity.
He appeared to be criticising the Front for Protectors of Islam (FPI), which has assumed the role of moral guardian by brutally attacking prostitutes and transvestites, and forcing the closure of bars. During Ramadan fasting month this year, it held the administration of Jakarta hostage until demands on bar closures were met.
FPI members also helped mount the recent demonstrations by white-robed, sword-wielding men in front of the presidential palace. Then, too, Mr Wahid's distaste for their version of the Islamic faith was apparent – he ejected FPI representatives from his office after just five minutes.
Last week, the FPI again attracted public attention, this time for its alleged involvement in an assault on a karaoke bar in Ciputat, South Jakarta. Police said 135 FPI members took part.
At first, observers were concerned at the jihad (holy war) demonstrations and the delay in the Government's response, seen in the police refusal to disarm FPI members in public.
But negotiations secured the removal of a jihad training camp at Bogor, near Jakarta, and concentrated efforts by security officers are preventing any chance of a mass-scale fighting force reaching the Malukus.
"There are many obstacles in the port of Surabaya, with police carrying out sweeping operations and checks against people going to the Malukus," Ayip Syafruddin, leader of the Ahlus-Sunnah Wal Jama'ah Forum, said from Yogyakarta.
On Wednesday, East Java police arrested three members of the forum at the port but were forced to release them the next day when hundreds of hardline Muslims stormed the police offices.