Tempest in a teacup?

The forcible removal by police of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from his hospital bed in Surakarta (Solo) triggered an immediate uproar among his most devoted followers in that Central Java city -- as well as on the part of the media there and in Jakarta. Four days later, the situation that is emerging appears to justify the belief that fears of a Muslim backlash in the wake of the incident have been much exaggerated.

This, of course, is due in part to the wisdom and restraint of leaders of the Indonesian Islamic community. Notable among them has been the ulema of the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Ngruki, Surakarta, which Ba'asyir led. He appealed for calm and restraint in the wake of Monday's rioting in and around the Muhammadiyah general hospital where the 64-year-old cleric was being treated for respiratory and heart disorders.

From Surakarta, Ba'asyir was flown via Semarang to Jakarta, where he is currently under treatment at the Police hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, pending questioning about his alleged role in a number of bomb attacks in Jakarta.

Another reason, however, could well be that the scope and extent of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's influence over Indonesia's overwhelmingly Muslim population is more limited than it may appear. This is despite the exposure of his activities, real or alleged, at home and abroad, by the media.

Certainly, there can be little doubt about the fierce loyalty of the cleric's students and close supporters. But unquestioning loyalty and submission towards a kyai, or ulema, after all, is a hallmark of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) in Indonesia.

The ferocity that hundreds of Al-Mukmin students displayed before television cameras in Surakarta on Monday, certainly seemed to justify the fears that a nationwide backlash against Ba'asyir's arrest and removal to Jakarta might trigger. At the most, however, what has materialized so far, aside from a few threats of reprisal, is calls for reason and fairness in the treatment of the ailing cleric -- which seems to prove that radical militant Islamic groups make up a small minority amid an overwhelming majority of moderates.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has promised the Indonesian public that Ba'asyir will be treated fairly while in police custody. In a media conference shortly after Ba'asyir was removed by police from his Surakarta hospital bed to Jakarta, the minister assured Indonesians that the cleric was being held only "to be questioned, not punished", the latter being the task of the courts in the event that evidence against the cleric is found.

About Ba'asyir's current situation, all that can be said with certainty at this point is that given the gravity of the allegations that have been made against him -- he is said to be the mastermind behind a number of bomb attacks that killed many people, and an attempt to assassinate Megawati Soekarnoputri before she became president -- the police obviously have the authority to order his arrest. Indeed, it was the forceful way in which the police entered Ba'asyir's hospital room, by breaking in through a window, that has been the subject of much criticism.

The main task that now remains for the police as far as Ba'asyir is concerned is to question him as soon as he has recovered sufficiently from his ailment and obtain whatever valuable information can be extracted. A number of reports circulating in Jakarta indicate that, indeed, the aging cleric may not be as innocent as he purports to be.

Proof of this, however, is for the authorities to establish and for the courts to decide on. All that we, the public, can do is maintain our patience for a while and wait for the investigators to come up with results. In the meantime, we can only hope that the current situation of relative calm will prevail so that the nation may have time to recover from the emotive events of these past few days.

In the meantime, the media should fulfill its role, in maintaining an atmosphere that will enable the nation to continue on its tortuous path toward recovery, simply by adhering to the highest possible standards of professionalism.