JUST before noonday prayers, an upright-looking man came out of a well-furnished and airy sitting room. Clad in a white undershirt over a red and blue sarong, he appeared collected, despite the many visitors waiting to see him. He greeted them with a friendly smile, then excused himself to perform ablutions before his prayers.

The man is K.H. Hasyim Muzadi, head of the Nahdlatul Ulama's (NU) Tanfidziah section, someone who has lately been rep