Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Clerics supporting Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid will decide today whether it is justifiable under Islamic law to kill those who have been attacking his presidency and attempting to unseat him.

The meeting of more than 500 Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) clerics from all over Indonesia has been called to decide whether to label attempts to overthrow the President a bughot, an Islamic term meaning rebellion against a legitimate government.

Clerics from NU, the largest Islamic organisation in Indonesia which Mr Abdurrahman once headed, are calling for the ruling as they fear Indonesia's stability is under threat.

"A bughot means we must go to war," said Mr Achmad Sujonu, the NU vice-secretary in East Java. Killing enemies was justified in the name of protecting a legitimate government, he added.

Political opponents within Parliament, including the party of Vice-President Megawati Sukarnoputri and an alliance of Islamic parties, have taken steps to impeach the President. Parliament will decide later this month whether to pursue impeachment.

Mr Achmad said: "The kiyai [Muslim teachers] of Java say that whoever becomes President of Indonesia through an election is the representative of the people, so he must complete his term." NU deputy secretary-general Masduki Baidlawi added that Islamic law sanctioned the killing of those involved in bughot. "The blood ... is halal," the Jakarta Post quoted him as saying.

Mr Abdurrahman has often said that Indonesia would fall apart if he was unseated. He maintains that he is the only leader capable of keeping Aceh, Irian Jaya and Madura – where some of his most fanatical supporters live – from declaring independence.

But other Muslim leaders have criticised NU's attempt to define attacks on the President as a rebellion. Professor Malik Fadjar, vice-chairman of the Muslim organisation Muhammadiyah, said: "It has to be a critical situation such as a war and NU is just pretending Indonesia is at war." He cited Iraq's invasion of Kuwait as a legitimate declaration of bughot.