Makassar – The hard-line vigilante group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) visited nightclubs in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar Friday night, warning owners to shutter their clubs a week before the fasting month of Ramadan starts.

"We are instructing the nightclubs' owners to respect the holy month of Ramadan by not operating," Abdurrahman, an FPI leader told state-run news agency Antara. The nightclubs are located along Jalan Nusantara, the center of Makassar's nightlife, and other locations along Jalan Sulawesi, Jalan Diponegoro and Jalan Gunung Latimojong.

"We are doing the canvassing to inform them in advance," Abdurrahman said. "If there are nightclubs which are still open in Ramadan, we shall pay them another visit."

The Islamic vigilante group has been criticized for conducting violent raids on nightclubs and against religious minorities like the Ahmadiyah sect. Members of the public are now calling on the government to fulfill its promise to protect religious freedom by cracking down on such organizations.

Last year, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that the Islamic holy month should be free of violence, calling for harmony among the country's various religious groups.

"If there is any sign of violence, it should be prevented by police," he said at the Presidential Palace, in his first public comments to address a recent string of violent acts against religious minorities.