Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Several Muslim groups, such as the militant Laskar Jihad and the extremist Muslim Brotherhood, have threatened to take to the streets on Monday and have a face-off with President Abdurrahman Wahid's suicide squads, providing just the catalyst for an explosive confrontation among the masses.
Just as Mr Abdurrahman has resorted to playing the religious card to retain his presidential seat, the opposition is also using Muslim groups in what may prove to be a dangerous dalliance.
The show of force by these Muslim groups, including the Action One Million which had threatened a million-strong prayer session tomorrow, appears to be designed to prove it is not just the political elite but the Muslims in general who are opposed to Mr Abdurrahman's presidency.
Most political parties are still developing their bases for mass support, and Muslim groups have become a convenient channel for parties to express their positions – in this case opposition to Mr Abdurrahman.
Political analyst Zainuddin Fananie says: "The Brave to Die troops are very different from Laskar Jihad or the others such as the Front to Defend Islam.
"Laskar Jihad appears to be motivated by funding whereas those from the Brave to Die troops are motivated by idealism." The Brave to Die troops refers to Mr Abdurrahman's supporters, while Laskar Jihad are radical Muslims famous for fighting Christians in Maluku.
The Front to Defend Islam are Muslim youths known for vandalising karaoke bars and nightclubs they claim are promoting un-Islamic activities.
These groups are being courted by political parties such as the Muslim PPP, which have been struggling to develop mass support since many of their politicians and followers left to join Mr Abdurrahman's PKB party, says Mr Zainuddin.
The latest to enter the political arena is a group calling itself the Muslim Brotherhood. Led by the blind cleric Habib Husein Al Habsyi, they claim to have 150,000 men to fight Mr Abdurrahman's supporters on the streets.
Mr Habib Husein told The Straits Times that his men, who are now training at a secret location in West Java, have had experience fighting alongside other Muslim groups in Afghanistan, the Philippines and Bosnia. The brotherhood could reportedly bring 100,000 radicals to the streets.
With these groups in the capital at the same time, commentators fear that a conflict could easily be provoked.
However the bigger fear, analysts say, is that the clash may not be just a one-day affair but widen the growing schism between the modernist Muslims and the traditional rural supporters of the President. If this happens, more clashes could be on the cards, says Mr Azey Umardi Azra, the rector of the Islamic State University.
And if the political parties succeed in nudging Mr Abdurrahman from his seat, possibly resorting to using their mass movements to outmuscle his suicide squads, will these parties be able to rein in the Muslim groups they have supported?
Groups such as Laskar Jihad for instance are opposed to Ms Megawati becoming president, while the Muslim Brotherhood, like many other extreme groups, wants a Muslim state. Mr Azey says these groups are still marginal and unlikely to get much support from any of the major Muslim groups for promoting a Muslim state.
However, as Laskar Jihad has shown, these small but organised groups can determine the direction of Indonesia's politics.