Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri's pledge to support the US war against terrorism is straining her fragile alliance with Islamic political parties and strengthening the hand of Vice President Hamzah Haz, a conservative Muslim, to challenge her authority.

In recent days, militant Islamic groups have organized several sizable anti-American rallies in Jakarta and threatened to attack US interests here if Washington strikes against suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

But some Indonesian observers believe the anti-US protests are serving a domestic political purpose as well. By portraying Ms. Megawati's support for the US as "anti-Islam," Muslim leaders who are critical of Ms. Megawati for her secular and pro-Western views are rallying support for their cause.

Mr. Hamzah could be the biggest beneficiary of the fallout. "This is mainly positioning by the Islamic leadership looking ahead to 2004," when Indonesia holds its next presidential election, says Umar Juoro, an economist who specializes in Islamic issues. "Hamzah Haz is in a good position to take advantage of a situation like this."

Low-profile career

The leader of the largest Muslim party in Parliament, Mr. Hamzah has deep roots in Indonesia's conservative Islamic tradition. Mr. Hamzah, who is 61 years old, prays almost four hours a day, leaving a patch of skin on his forehead discolored from his religious prostrations, according to his aides. Like some orthodox Indonesian Muslims, Mr.Hamzah has two wives, who have borne him 12 children. He worked briefly as a journalist and a teacher before devoting himself full-time to Islamic politics in the 1960s. After serving in Parliament for 30 years, he was elected vice president in July by the People's Consultative Assembly, two days after the lawmakers elected Ms. Megawati president.

For most of his career, Mr. Hamzah kept a low profile, rising in the ranks of the United Development Party – one of only two tightly controlled opposition parties allowed under autocratic former President Suharto – while the political activities of many other Islamic leaders were forcibly suppressed. But since Mr. Suharto gave up power in 1998, Mr. Hamzah has repositioned his party as one of the most effective proponents of conservative Islamic interests in mainstream Indonesian politics. Many Indonesians now say Mr. Hamzah could be a serious contender for the presidency in 2004 if he can ride the groundswell of a Muslim revival here.

Mr. Hamzah's party played a critical role in thwarting Ms. Megawati's initial bid for the presidency in 1999. Party elders then argued that a woman – even a Muslim woman, such as Ms. Megawati – shouldn't run the world's largest Muslim country. But a common interest in ousting Ms. Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, brought the conservative Muslims into an uneasy alliance with Ms. Megawati just two months ago. Ms. Megawati's party controls about 30% of the seats in Parliament and badly needs the support of the religion-oriented parties to govern.

Criticism of Megawati

Now, ambivalence among many Indonesians over Ms. Megawati's support for President Bush's antiterrorism campaign threatens to undermine this arrangement and propel Mr. Hamzah into the role of the champion of Islamic interests. Last week, for example, the Indonesian Ulemas Council – the country's highest Islamic authority – implicitly criticized Ms. Megawati by urging her not to provide any form of support for US retaliation against Afghanistan.

"Megawati must communicate and pay attention to the people's aspirations. She must firmly reject and condemn the US government's policy to attack Afghanistan," says Din Syamsuddin, the council's secretary general. "Hamzah Haz's statements have been more accommodative in responding to the people's call because his roots are in Islamic political parties."

Indeed, while Ms. Megawati was preparing to fly to the US last month to pledge support for Mr. Bush's war on terrorism, Mr. Hamzah said he hoped that the attacks on New York and Washington would "cleanse the sins" of the US.

Mr. Hamzah has kept a relatively low profile after that remark attracted the ire of US Ambassador Robert Gelbard. But Mr. Hamzah has continued to burnish his Islamic credentials by preparing for his first overseas trip next month – to Libya – and stressing that the US must not portray all Muslims as terrorists.

Support from Mr. Hamzah's party and a loose alliance of smaller Islamic parties was crucial for Ms. Megawati's rise to the presidency in July. But key Muslim leaders have reassured their followers that they will withdraw their support for Ms. Megawati's government if she fails to uphold Islamic values. While Indonesian observers don't expect the Muslim parties to undermine Ms. Megawati immediately, some perceive the recent anti-American demonstrations in Jakarta as an initial attempt to weaken her and set the stage for a more direct political battle later on. "It isn't going to happen overnight, but things will build up," Mr. Juoro predicts. "She will gradually face serious problems from these groups."

Mr. Hamzah didn't respond to an interview request for this article. But a close aide says that Mr. Hamzah enjoys a reputation as a calm and accommodating politician; he dismisses suggestions that the vice president is angling for political gain from Muslim unease with US policies. "I don't think Hamzah Haz would ever think to use this opportunity to gain power and topple Mega," says Achmad Karmani, a political colleague who has known Mr. Hamzah for more than 35 years. "He likes creating equilibrium and balance. He would avoid moves that can only shake national stability and could affect efforts to pursue economic recovery."

[Rin Hindryati contributed to this article.]