Thousands lined the funeral route today of former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, a charismatic Muslim cleric known for his unflinching defence of pluralism.
Wahid, usually known affectionately by the nickname Gus Dur, became president in 1999 on a wave of optimism in the turmoil following former strongman president Suharto's fall from power.
The frail cleric, who in more recent years suffered several strokes and was nearly blind, died at the age of 69 on Wednesday.
Crowds surged towards his coffin wrapped in Indonesia's red and white flag as it was carried in the streets of his home town of Jombang in East Java. Muslim clerics in white said prayers. Buddhist monks and Christian leaders also attended.
"He was really the boldest and perhaps the most charismatic reform figure on issues like democracy, human rights, interfaith dialogue and religious reform," said Greg Fealy of the Australian National University.
"On those things he had a very substantial record and he could be very brave standing up to the Suharto regime," added Fealy, an expert on Islam and Indonesian politics.
The jocular cleric, whose catchphrase was "Gitu aja kok repot" ("What's the big deal"), became the first democratically elected president in Indonesia in October 1999, edging out Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of founding President Sukarno.
Often a polarising figure, Wahid's short-lived presidency collapsed in 2001 as he struggled to deal with a broken economy amid allegations of incompetence and corruption.
His style was sometimes bumbling and erratic, and any hope that his penchant for jokes, formidable intellect and political skills would help lead Indonesia through the transition from authoritarian rule to democracy quickly fell flat.
While in office, he did, however, strive for peace in troubled areas such as a Aceh and also gave greater freedom to minority ethnic Chinese who had been suppressed under Suharto.
Wahid never returned to power, but despite his frail health, remained an influential figure in politics and was a staunch defender of moderate Islam and secular politics.
He was the former leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim group with some 40 million members, but regularly spoke up for the rights of minorities in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Wahid once ordered the ejection of a group of Muslim radicals from the presidential palace, after they came to complain about the presence of Christians in Ambon in eastern Indonesia, said Kevin Evans, a Jakarta-based political analyst.
Most Indonesians follow a moderate form of Islam, but a vocal fringe favour sharia law, and occasionally violence, to push their agenda in the officially secular nation.
Despite Indonesia having no formal ties with Israel, Wahid also had a role in the Peres Centre for Peace and once travelled to Tel Aviv to sign a peace charter.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was energy minister under Wahid, led the state funeral procession in Jombang.
Thousands of ordinary Indonesians also flocked to get near Wahid's body, which was taken to the Ulil Albab mosque near the Islamic boarding school complex set up by his grandfather.
"Gus Dur was a saint. Every time he visited, I always came to receive his blessing," said Maryamah, 47, from nearby Madiun.
Tributes also came from abroad. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs described Wahid as a "pivotal figure in Indonesia's transition to democracy."
Reuters