The mosque on Jalan Karya Bakti in Medan is no longer bustling with excited youth. When Tempo visited on Thursday afternoon last week, only a few youths could be seen performing a zikir prayer ritual at the mosque. "Usually, hundreds of people come here," said Rico Purba, one of the tarekat (Muslim group) members.

The tarekat's leader, Syekh Muda Ahmad Arifin, has forbidden overcrowding at the mosque, which sits just behind his home. The guru fears