SOLO, Indonesia, October 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Indonesian alleged “terror” suspect Abu Bakar Basyir said Sunday, October 27, he is prepared to be questioned by police but will resist any attempt to detain him.

“I will refuse, with whatever powers I have,” he told journalists in his first statement since being rushed to hospital here nine days ago, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The Muslim cleric, accused of being the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), did not elaborate on what form his refusal would take, but said if he were detained by police it would be “by force”.

“I am ready for questioning, but regarding the matter of my detention, I deem that it has not met the necessary legal aspects because it can be clearly seen that this is because of pressure from countries of infidels,” he said.

Dozens of Basyir followers are at the Muhammadiyah hospital here where he is receiving treatment from respiratory problems.

There have been rife rumors in Solo of unrest should Basyir be detained by force, and more than 1,000 people attended a rally Sunday appealing for calm.

An online poll published by the Media Indonesian newspaper showed a majority 56 percent of the 1,752 people who responded believe the arrest of Muslim leaders, including Basyir, will lead to more violence.

Propped up by pillows on his hospital bed, and without the intravenous drip that had been connected to his arm since he was admitted on October 18, Basyir told journalists he did not object to being questioned by police.

“It is normal if a citizen is suspected, he should be summoned by the police for clarification and I will honor the summons.”

Basyir was arrested in hospital last weekend, but police have said they planned to wait until he had fully recovered before the detention took effect and he was formally questioned.

He has, allegedly, been implicated in a series of bombings two years ago and an alleged plot to assassinate Megawati Sukarnoputri, before she became president.

Basyir has not been named as a suspect in the October 12 Bali bombings, which killed more than 190 people but Indonesian authorities said the Bali devastation was similar to previous JI operations.

No one has claimed the Bali attack, but the United Nations has since placed the JI on its Al-Qaeda linked blacklist.

Indonesian investigators have said the bombs could not have been made without foreign expert help.

Basyir said his detention was religiously unacceptable and was the work of the United States.

“My detention is a political matter, not a legal matter, even a political matter that is targeting the Islamic world because this was done following the pressure of demands from infidels, enemies of Islam,” he said.

“The terrorist governments of the United States, Australia and Israel demanded that I be detained and therefore it will be ‘haram’ (religiously forbidden) to follow,” Basyir argued.

He said he used the term 'haram' because his detention would be tantamount to “surrendering a Muslim to the wishes of infidels who have a certain agenda, that is, making war on Islam.”

Basyir said he had no doubt the United States and its allies were bent on war against Islam and planned to “conduct a crusade in the world.”

Lawyers for Basyir were to meet police late Sunday to negotiate how the 64-year-old cleric will be treated when he is discharged from hospital.

He could be ready for questioning “on Tuesday or Wednesday”, they said.

Forensic tests on a Bali hotel room, used by a person fitting witness descriptions of possible suspects, produced results "believed to be related to the blast", police said Sunday.