Robert Go, Jakarta – There is no love for Mr Saddam Hussein in Indonesia. Members of the educated elite view him as a dictator who has waged war against other Muslims, both beyond and within his own borders. The unschooled masses know only that he has a moustache and often wears a beret.

Yet ask them to choose between him and Uncle Sam, and it is no-contest: Mr Saddam wins hands down.

Religion may matter in this context.

The Megawati government has formally said what the United States and its allies want to hear: America's war is not one against Islam.

But the idea of Muslim solidarity is a powerful force, and within the world's largest Muslim population, those who talk about a big and bad Muslim-hunting America still have an audience.

At a more basic level, though, the perception among many is that America is big and bad and tends to throw its weight around.

This might explain why thousands turn out to protest against the sole superpower's declared causes of the day, even when the issues are far removed from religion.

Some elements of Indonesian society started to voice anti-American sentiments during the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

They argued that Washington's policies at that time focused on providing bread and butter to Americans at the expense of the rest of the world.

Now, whenever US companies close factories and withdraw from this country, protest banners string together the words "America", "Evil" and "Hypocrisy". American financial aid to cash-strapped Indonesia has to be pitched carefully and at the risk of arousing charges that Washington is meddling in Jakarta's domestic affairs.

Asked about how they viewed American policy initiatives, several prominent Indonesians answered: "Suspiciously" or "With worry".

Analysts say that Indonesians' anti-Americanism is unlike that seen in the Middle East or in left-wing intellectual cafes in Paris. Here, it has not yet materialised into boycotts of US products or sustained drives to kick Americans out.

Indonesians still love American things. Some wear Levi's, talk into Motorolas, buy Diet Cokes and watch the latest Hollywood movies. The question is how long before anti-US sentiments solidify into something more tangible.

In the meantime, while Iraq demonstrations here might take on religious overtones, Islam may not be at the heart of Indonesians' outrage. Many are simply protesting against a US-led war.