Marianne Kearney, Batu Keras (West Java) – This town is situated in one of Indonesia's most devout Muslim provinces.

The road to the coastline is punctuated by modestly dressed young girls and boys collecting donations to rebuild their local mosque. Many of the older women wear the jilbab, or Muslim head scarf, and on Fridays even the roughest, toughest fishermen abandon their boats for the mosques.

But there is little sympathy for the antics of hardline protesters in Jakarta. Asked whether he would like to join a jihad or even a demonstration against the United States, young Agus jokes that while he and his friends might be crazy like those demonstrators in Jakarta, their passion is surfing. "They are crazy for demonstrations, but we are crazy for big waves," he laughs.

Down on the beach, scantily-clad foreigners emerging from the water are surrounded by a group of fully-clothed students, only to be asked if they can complete a survey for their coursework. "We want to know more about your country," they echo to the tourists. In the markets, a Western tourist is besieged by stallholders who are more interested in admiring her long, pointy nose than asking her views on the attacks on Afghanistan.

Like the stallholders, many Muslims in this coastal stretch of West Java are not the radicals seen on TV threatening to expel foreigners. They are moderate, devout Muslims who are still friendly to foreigners and more interested in raking in foreign exchange or simply improving their English.

While many sympathise with the Taleban and oppose the American-led air attacks on Afghanistan, most do not support the calls for jihad nor demand to end business and political ties with America.

One young Muslim man watching the latest reports of civilian casualties there said he felt sorry for the Afghans. "The Afghans are just poor people, while America is very strong. Why do they bomb such a poor country?" he asked.

A survey in a recent edition of Tempo magazine showed that 88.5 per cent of Jakarta respondents oppose the US bombing. "When you talk to the lower class, they say Osama is a hero because he fights America. People are angry with the US because it has an unfair policy towards the Islamic world," said political analyst Lambang Trijono. "But they don't agree if Indonesia goes to Afghanistan for a jihad."