Jakarta – If a Muslim group has its way, moviegoers in the Indonesian city of Bandung will no longer get to watch films such as Daredevil or Chicago.

The Kabah Youth Movement yesterday urged 17 theatres in the industrial town 200 km south-east of Jakarta to stop screening US and British films because of the war in Iraq.

"We want the US and British governments to stop attacking Iraqis," said Mr Syahrial Agamas, chairman of the group, which is the youth wing of Vice-President Hamzah Haz's United Development Party. "This boycott will remind people about the behaviour of these governments," he said.

But Mr Rahmat Selamat, a manager at Indah Plaza mall in Bandung, said he did not expect anyone to take the appeals seriously and that theatres remained packed for showings of Chicago and Maid in Manhattan.

"We can't be bothered with the boycott," he said. A film boycott "would damage the job opportunities for thousands of theatre workers", said Mr Iwan Kusmawan of movie distributor PT Jabara Kharisma Film.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, practises a moderate form of Islam and has long embraced Western culture. But the current war has angered many groups in society, prompting them to threaten boycotts of fast-food chains like McDonald's.

The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation and Walhi, the country's leading environmental organisation, have announced they would no longer accept funding from US, Australian or British government agencies.

"Protesting against the war is not enough," said Mr Longgena Ginting, executive director of Walhi. "This war is against our values. We cannot work with countries that are against our values."