Robert Go, Jakarta – A radical group, infamous for using Islamic teachings to justify threats against Westerners and attacks on nightclubs and bars, has announced that it is suspending its activities.

This is seen as yet another sign that radical Islam followers could be losing ground support.

But leaders of the Defenders of Islam Front (FPI) insisted on Wednesday that the group's move had nothing to do with the official tough line on terrorism.

Its leader Muhsin Ahmad Alatas said the group was worried about being infiltrated by individuals seeking to discredit Islam by disobeying orders and committing criminal acts as part of "efforts to defend Islamic principles". "We are worried that these agents would get a chance to give Islam a bad name," he said.

During Ramadan, the FPI is known to bring in thugs to smash up nightclubs, bars and other entertainment centres that are deemed to have broken Islamic laws.

The suspension was self-initiated and would be indefinite, but it did not amount to the group's disbandment, its leaders added.

A police source, however, said that top security officials have "advised" Muhammad Rizieq Shihab – the FPI boss who now faces criminal charges and up to six years in jail after his group destroyed a number of bars last October – to "quit".

The group's decision, that follows Laskar Jihad's – a militant outfit active in the Maluku province – comes at a time when Indonesia's moderate Muslims could be growing less tolerant of radical Islam in the wake of the Oct 12 Bali blasts.

Another explanation could be that these militant groups are losing financial support from political and military backers, who now see them as liabilities.