Ismail Fajrie Alatas

Those who live in South Jakarta would undoubtedly have experienced a traffic disruption on a Saturday night caused by a lengthy and extensive motorcade of youngsters dressed in white shirts, sarongs and skullcaps. They pervade the cityscape with flags and banners written in Arabic script unintelligible to many inhabitants of the capital. Behind them were several trucks overflowing with youth singing paeans to God and blessings to the prophet, accompanied by melodious drumming. To make this carnivalesque picture complete, stretches of road were filled with banners and billboards showing a picture of a man of Hadhrami extraction garbed in a colored robe and white turban.