The government is officially secular and tolerant of other religions, and
pressure to make laws more in line with orthodox beliefs has been a regular
source of controversy in recent years.
Some militant groups have taken things into their own hands on occasion by,
for example, attacking unlicensed churches and bars selling alcohol during the
Muslim fasting period.
"I am afraid to sell the first edition because it has been reported that the
Islamic organizations would be on alert," said newsstand owner Ronni, 30, who
operates near the headquarters of a hardline Muslim group, the Islamic
Defenders' Front (FPI).
Tubagus Sidiq, a senior leader of FPI, told Reuters: "FPI opposes (Playboy)
in whatever form."
"According to our commitment, if they don't withdraw it then we will act in
our own way, the forceful way. Our crew will clearly hound the editors ... We
even oppose the name Playboy."
The government took a different view.
"The laws that we can use in this case (are) whether there is a publication
that violates decency. So, we need to check the content first. Just using the
name is insufficient to ban it," Information Minister Sofyan Djalil told
reporters.
Bambang Kuncoko, a national police spokesman, said at a news conference that
"the public should follow the law and must not take arbitrary actions. If that
happens, the police will absolutely take legal actions."
Late Friday afternoon about 20 FPI protesters, outnumbered by journalists
covering them, showed up at the Playboy publishers offices, and local news radio
said a representative team met with the magazine's editors.
Despite regular campaigns against pornography, many sidewalk vendors in
Indonesia stock sexually explicit movies and the country has a flourishing sex
industry.
Founded in 1953, Playboy has about 20 editions around the world that cater to
local tastes.