Jakarta – The jailed head of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) urged Jakarta officials on Tuesday to shut down bars, discos and nightclubs during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan or face possible raids.

Muhammad Riziq Shihab, chief of FPI, said city officials "must be stern in carrying out the law" or they could face wrath from "people who will take matters into their own hands." "As long as my followers go out on raids to uphold the law and their faith, why should I stop them?" Shihab told AFP by mobile telephone from his jail cell in Jakarta.

He is serving a seven-month term for instigating violence during a series of vandalistic attacks on entertainment centers by FPI members in Jakarta last year. Jakarta governor Sutiyoso is expected next week to issue a decree ordering nightclubs, bars, discos, saunas, massage parlors and games parlors closed for the month, which will start in Indonesia around October 25.

Cafes, restaurants and live music halls are allowed to operate for reduced hours except on six days considered especially holy.

The decree does not explicitly order a ban on the sale of alcohol but says any violation of the closure order would cost businesses their licenses.

Shihab said he was pessimistic the decree would be heeded. "A mere decree will be useless. Police must have the guts to arrest and prosecute people who break the law during Ramadan," he said.

FPI has in the past raided bars and nightclubs in the city and made threats to expel foreigners following the US attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Muslims must shun eating, drinking, smoking and sex each day from dawn to dusk during Ramadan.