Jakarta – Indonesian TV shows that feature scantily dressed women are more dangerous than bombs, a militant Muslim cleric who served a jail term for links to the Bali bombings was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Abu Bakar Bashir said local television stations should offer more religious programs instead of showing half-naked women. "If you ask which are more dangerous, half-naked women or the Bali bombs? The answer is of course women who bare their bodies," Bashir was quoted as saying by Antara news agency. He said such shows could shake the faith of men and invite God's curse.

Television programs in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, are increasingly liberal. Private channels offer late night comedy shows featuring scantily-dressed women.

Bashir, 67, left a Jakarta jail on June 14 after serving time for being part of a conspiracy behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.

Indonesian and Western officials had described Bashir as the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah. Jemaah Islamiah is an armed movement backing the creation of an Islamic superstate linking historically Muslim Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Philippines and southern Thailand.

In the past, it cooperated closely with al Qaeda's global campaign against Western targets, but in recent years many in Jemaah Islamiah have focused more on the regional struggle.

Bashir has consistently denied any connection to the Bali bombing or other attacks blamed on Jemaah Islamiah, which he has said does not exist.