Candra Malik & Farouk Arnaz – Dozens of clerics gathered at a Central Java boarding school over the weekend to question radical religious leader Abu Bakar Bashir over last week's arrest of 12 terror suspects in Jakarta.

The 12 have been linked to a violent terrorist group in Aceh, and seven of them were seized from a building used by Jemaah Anshorut Tawhid (JAT), which police say is involved with the training of militants by the group in Aceh.

Bashir, seen as the spiritual leader of Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah, said he had been the real target of the police raid on JAT's base, a claim the clerics wanted to discuss.

JAT was founded and publicly launched by Bashir in 2008. "Bashir is the key player in JAT," said Sidney Jones, an expert on terror networks with the Inter-national Crisis Group (ICG). "He is the major figure."

The closed-door clerics' meeting was attended by members of the conservative Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) in Solo, and representatives of the hard-line Solo Islamic Youth Front (FPIS) and Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

Bashir is the leader of Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Ngruki, Sukoharjo, Central Java.

Conservative cleric Mudzakir, the leader of Al Islam Islamic boarding school where the meeting was held, said Bashir had told the clerics that JAT was solely a religious group involved in "spreading the knowledge of divinity," and that he was not involved in terrorism.

"We invited Bashir to hear directly from him," Mudzakir said. "We refuse to hear gossip and allegations." He said the clerics had warned police not to arrest Bashir. "Do not arrest Bashir on charges of terrorist involvement. Do not repeat the same mistakes," he said.

Bashir was convicted of involvement in a "criminal conspiracy" that resulted in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, but the Supreme Court overturned the verdict in late 2006 in a ruling that infuriated victims' groups. Bashir has repeatedly denied involvement in terrorist activities.

But the latest controversy brings Bashir back into the public limelight, rekindling fears that he is active in violent activities.

Police are still tracking Mustafa, alias Abu Tholut, who they believe acted as a bridge between Bashir and the Aceh group, an anti-terrorism police source told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday. The latest arrests, the source claimed, uncovered more information about Bashir's involvement.

"We will coordinate with the Financial Transactions Report Analysis Center [PPATK] that Bashir and his group, JAT, are allegedly involved in financing the Aceh military training," the source said. "We need time and hope we can arrest Abu Tholut in the near future to make clear our allegation as a legal basis to arrest [Bashir]."

ICG's Jones said the composition of the Aceh military group was complex and also contained elements who had earlier been expelled from JAT, which she said had both an above-ground presence and a clandestine arm.

Meanwhile, Bashir told the Globe by phone that he was not worried about being caught by police. "That's the risk of spreading the struggle of Islamic law. I'll keep preaching as usual," he said.

He also threatened to sue the National Police for what he called the kidnapping of the seven JAT members. "Since the police have not yet responded to our demands to free the members of the JAT and unlock our office in Jakarta, I ask the Muslim Lawyers Team to report allegations of kidnapping. We will sue the police," Bashir said.

Achmad Michdan, a Muslim Lawyers Team member, said all 12 suspects were members of a group headed by Bashir, but he denied they had any link to Aceh military training.

Achmad said the families of the accused had approached the lawyers for assistance. "They are just ordinary people who are active in a Muslim organization linked to Bashir," he said.