Indonesian Islamic and Christian leaders met President George W. Bush to air concerns about "imbalanced" US policy in the Middle East and said afterwards that he appeared to heed their views.
"There was a positive impression but we have to wait and see whether this dialogue will be fruitful," said Ahmad Syafii Maarif, chairman of the country's second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah.
The meeting was held during Bush's four-hour visit to Bali island, aimed at showing US solidarity with Indonesia's fight against terrorism.
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militants bombed two nightclubs on the island a year ago, killing 202 people.
The talks with religious teachers lasted almost twice the scheduled time.
"I feel Bush heard us," Maarif said. "Imagine anything scheduled for 30 minutes lasted 55 minutes. According to me that's something we should be grateful to God for."
Hasyim Muzadi, who heads the largest Islamic organization Nahdlatul Ulama, told reporters they asked Bush about his "imbalanced" policy concerning Israel and the Palestinian territories.
They also called for US forces to quit Iraq. "He replied, 'As soon as possible,'" Muzadi said.
He said the religious leaders also urged Bush not to confuse religion with terrorism because all religions have fanatical elements. The president replied that there was no intention of equating Islam with terrorism.
"It seems like there was concern from President George Bush," Muzadi said. "We will only see later how the follow-up steps are taken."
Nathan Setiabudi, a Christian leader from the Union of Indonesian Churches, said he told Bush: "You have to show concrete and clear changes as far as both foreign policy and your attitude, which seems to be indeed anti-Islam, are concerned."
He said that even though people were spectical that such a meeting would be useful, "the fact is George Bush showed an unexpected openness."
About 70 people from Muslim groups staged a protest outside the airport during Bush's brief trip and moved on to the US consulate.
They rejected the visit and demanded that US troops pull out of Iraq. "Bush is killing Iraqi people," read a poster.