Anita Rachman, Makassar – A banner hanging prominently at the Sudiang Hajj dormitory boldly proclaims: "Save Nahdlatul Ulama From the Influence of Fundamentalism, Radicalism, and Liberalism."

For many participants at the 32nd national congress of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the banner signed by the Riau Islands chapter is just a banner, one of scores, at the venue.

But on Wednesday the slogan took on a foreboding meaning for some.

A plenary congress late on Tuesday declared that only those who follow the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah principle (followers of the Sunnah, the method applied by Prophet Muhammad and his companions) could contest the chairmanship of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization.

The congress, however, stopped short of adopting a suggestion that a chairman must not have any connection to the Liberal Islam Network (JIL).

Senior NU clerics said at the meeting that there was no room for liberalism in the organization.

Hafidz Usman, head of the congress committee, told the Jakarta Globe that on Tuesday night a branch had suggested the plenary add another clause to the requirements for a chairman – that the person not be from JIL.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, one of the seven potential candidates running for the NU chairmanship, is the founder of JIL, a loose forum that discusses and disseminates the concept of Islamic liberalism in Indonesia.

"It was the East Java chapter that suggested the idea," Hafidz said. "Our requirements are: those who have been actively working for NU for at least four years and those who follow NU's ideology of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah."

A senior cleric from East Java and head of the province's NU chapter, Mohammad Hasan Mutawakkil Alallah, pointed out that it was actually a subdistrict chapter, Sampang in Madura, that had made the suggestion.

"But of course, clearly, NU does not have space for liberalism, although I must say that a congress is not the right place to discuss that," he said. He defined liberalism as an ideology that was either too "left" or "right" and freely interpreted the holy book.

Another senior cleric from Central Java and a member of the NU advisory council, Masruri Mughni, said the NU would never let liberalism grow within its ranks because it would be "crossing the line."

"They say the objective of shalat (praying) is to remember God. That is why, if we already remember God, why do we need to pray? That's what they say and that is wrong."

Ulil, while admitting to being a "liberal Muslim thinker," said he was also a traditionalist. "I still kiss clerics' hands when we meet, I still visit tombs. I also take part in tahlil, prayers for the dead," he said.

Ulil said that his only wish was to develop an Islam that encouraged the spirit of humanism and pluralism while upholding democratic values. "I know that there are some senior clerics who disagree, but there are also other senior clerics who agree or sympathize with my thoughts," Ulil said.

Masdar Farid Mas'udi, a n NU deputy chairman and potential candidate, said that bringing up the liberalism issue was a political move and thus inappropriate for the congress and its election for chairman.