Dressed in flowing brown robe and turban, Abu Jibril raised his fist and promised worshippers in a packed suburban mosque that every coin they donate to overthrow Indonesia's secular government will be repaid hundreds of times over in heaven.
"The government no longer looks to Allah, but to America," said the soft-spoken preacher, who argues that only jihad, or holy war, can establish an Islamic state in the 210 million-strong country, home to more Muslims than any other. "Prepare your forces and banish the enemy."
Two years after Washington blocked Jibril's assets and declared him a terrorist -- the alleged "primary recruiter and second in command" of Southeast Asia's deadliest al-Qaeda-linked group, Jemaah Islamiyah -- he's back delivering extremist sermons.
Indonesian authorities keep Jibril under surveillance, but say they have no evidence he has committed a crime in the country, where he was deported after his release a year ago from prison in Malaysia. Now, he travels, preaches and meets other known extremists and followers.
His case presents a dilemma for Indonesia as it tries to balance US demands to further crack down on Islamic terrorists with the need to preserve democratic freedoms ushered in after the 1998 downfall of the dictator Suharto.
It also illustrates the difficulties authorities in Southeast Asia and elsewhere face in bringing to court terrorist suspects who have operated outside their countries. In cases against alleged militants, getting admissible evidence across borders has proved difficult.
Jibril, who is also known by a host of aliases including Mohammed Iqbal bin Abdul Rahman, denies having terrorist links and insists the US allegations against him are false.
"They are no surprise because they come from a government of unbelievers," he told reporters, sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Ar-Rahma Mosque on the grounds of a hospital in south Jakarta. "If they have proof, why don't they present it?"
But Jibril, 47, won't talk about his past, saying with a smile, "It is a long story."
In January 2003, the US Treasury Department blocked Jibril's assets and accused him of being the "primary recruiter and second in command" of Jemaah Islamiyah, whose operations span 10 years and a half-dozen Southeast Asian countries.
The group, which officials say got funding from al-Qaeda, is blamed for the 2002 bombings that killed 202 people on the resort island of Bali, a 2003 suicide bombing at a US-owned hotel in Jakarta and a string of other attacks and plots against Western targets.
In Washington, Treasury Department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said Jibril's designation was based on domestic and foreign intelligence. She declined to give details -- including how much money was frozen -- or say if the information was shared with Indonesian authorities.
In his sermon last month, Jibril said Muslims were obliged to join a jihad to topple Indonesia's government and replace it with one based on Islamic law or Shariah.
"Those who say a jihad is not necessary are speaking nonsense," he said, without explicitly stating what form this holy war should take. Mainstream Islamic thinking argues violent jihad is only permissible in self-defense.
Two policemen assigned to monitor the meeting sat in one corner, struggling to stay awake.
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