A planned mass gathering of supporters of the Islamic State (IS) movement at a mosque in Semarang, Central Java was canceled on Sunday.

Some visitors riding motorcycles with plate numbers from Kudus and Tegal were seen arriving at Madyo Mangun Karso Mosque on Jl. Wolter Monginsidi, Pedurungan district to attend the gathering, which was scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

After learning that the meeting was canceled and they could not enter the mosque since its gate was locked, they greeted each other and left the premises.

The mosque had been quiet since morning, with at least 10 police officers guarding it.

There was no banner indicating a gathering would be held in the mosque or that it was canceled.

'€œThere'€™s been no activity here since morning and no sign of a gathering at the mosque,'€ said Adj. First Insp. Juwadi, one of the police officers.

Meanwhile, Doni, a resident living near the mosque, said the mosque was also known as the Panut Mosque as it was built by the Panut family. Signs with sentences in Javanese hung from the walls of the mosque.

'€œWe don'€™t know about the gathering. We, the residents here, feel our mosque has been interfered with by certain hard-line groups,'€ Doni said.

He said he always joined Friday prayers the mosque, adding '€œthe preachers give normal sermons, nothing radical'€.

News of the planned gathering went viral on social media with a poster including pictures of Osama bin Laden and IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The gathering was reportedly organized by Jammah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), an organization established by cleric Abu Bakar Ba'€™asyir, who is serving a 15-year sentence for terrorism-related offenses in Nusakambangan prison, Central Java.

During a previous meeting in prison with JAT board members, Ba'€™asyir called on his followers to support IS.

Several JAT leaders, such as Fauzan Al Mubarok and Khoirul Anam, were said to have attended the gathering.

However, Muhammad Arifin, a committee member of the planned gathering, said there would be no IS flag hoisting at the gathering and no pledging of IS membership.

Interviewed by Tribun Jateng, Arifin said the committee had only made a poster with a picture of veiled women for the gathering.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo had earlier asked the police to disperse the meeting as the government had banned IS and the use of the IS symbol.

Last week, Semarang Police chief Sr. Comr. Djihartono said the police had met some mass organizations to gather information about the planned IS gathering.

'€œWe are continuously monitoring any possible activity related to IS. If we find the gathering is related to IS, we will take stern action and disperse it,'€ Djihartono.

Terrorism expert Al Chaidar said hard-line groups were active in Semarang and Yogyakarta with many young people interested in joining the jihadist movement.

The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) has reported that more than 500 Indonesians have joined IS, fighting in the civil war in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, Malaysia deported 12 Indonesians, mostly from East Java, who were allegedly on their way to Syria to join IS.

Last week, the US Embassy issued a warning to Americans about a potential threat against US-associated banks and hotels in Surabaya, East Java.

Earlier, in a national meeting in Semarang, the security guards (Banser) of Nahdlatul Ulama'€™s (NU) youth wing (Ansor) revealed the presence of hard-line groups in some cities in East Java.

The moderate NU is the country'€™s largest Muslim organizations.

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