By ERIC TALMADGE
The Associated Press
Friday, May 12, 2006; 5:58 AM

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the man at the center of the showdown over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, doesn't immediately come across as a firebrand.

Like most of his countrymen, he dresses conservatively in shades of gray. Giving speeches, he rarely shows much expression, rarely raises his voice, or his fists.

But among many Muslims, he's fast becoming a model of defiance.

Here and elsewhere in the Muslim world, Ahmadinejad is working to build a reputation as a courageous, hard-line leader unafraid to stand up to the West, speak his mind on Israel _ which he has said should be "wiped off the map" _ or lecture President Bush on history and religious values.

"Fight America, fight Israel!" a crowd shouted after the Iranian leader offered prayers Friday at the main mosque in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

To a cheering audience Thursday at the University of Indonesia, he called Israel "a tyrannical regime that one day will be destroyed." Many students held up posters of support. One read "Iran in our Hearts."

Before about 1,000 students at the Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University on Jakarta's southern outskirts, he lashed out at the "double standard" of the big powers, eliciting loud applause when he asked, "If nuclear technology is bad, why do they have it?"

Despite the growing pressure on Iran to allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities or possibly face U.N. sanctions, Ahmadinejad was on friendly ground in this country, the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"I think you are the man of the year," one student stood to say. "We will always be with you. You will never walk alone," said another.

Although Indonesia is relatively moderate and maintains generally cordial relations with the West, the Iranian leader's message resonates with many of its young people.

"He impresses me," said Riswanto Hidayat, 21, who attended the rally at Islamic University. "He gives a voice to the opposition of Muslims to the arrogance of the United States."

It is often an angry voice.

In a letter to Bush earlier this week, Ahmadinejad brushed aside the concerns over Tehran's nuclear program, choosing instead to press other buttons _ suggesting a U.S. government-led conspiracy was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, for example, or that the Holocaust that killed 6 million Jews never happened.

Educated Muslims don't necessarily share those views.

"I understand the frustrations, but his position is too extreme and I don't think he represents the mainstream of Islam," said 19-year-old Nurmela Sari. "His positions just bring out the anger in the West and Israel."

Ahmadinejad's own countrymen have mixed feelings about his fiery style. His announcement last month that Iran produced enriched urananium for the first time was a source of national pride. Yet some Iranians have expressed concern that his tough rhetoric is worsening the country's isolation.

But Ahmadinejad has demonstrated a knack for tapping into a pool of frustration over the perception that Washington is, at best, insensitive to a wide range of Muslim concerns or, at worse, a bully trying to keep Muslims down.

"We want to use technology for peace and the welfare of the Muslim people around the world," he said. "But they want to use it to invade other countries. This is the difference between us and them."

At a dialogue with Indonesian Islamic leaders Friday, one member of the audience urged Ahamdinejad to go ahead and develop nuclear weapons, saying the "enemies of Islam" also had them.

The Iranian leader did not reply directly, but quipped that "every young man in the Islamic world is an atomic bomb because they have faith, God and love the character of the Prophet Muhammad."

Yet Ahmadinejad was careful to not to shut the door on dialogue over the nuclear standoff. During his stay in Indonesia, which began Wednesday and was to end Sunday, Ahmadinejad has repeatedly said he welcomes further negotiations.

But he has just as frequently vowed not to kowtow to the West.

"We have never oppressed anyone, and have never been oppressed by anyone," he said. "We will hit whoever attacks our interests."

Iran says its nuclear development is for peaceful production of nuclear energy. The United States, European nations and others accuse Iran of using the civilian energy program to hide ambitions to build a nuclear weapon.

The U.S., Britain and France support a proposed Security Council resolution that could set the stage for range of measures _ including economic sanctions or military action _ if Iran presses ahead with uranium enrichment, a key ingredient to make both energy and bombs.

Ahmadinejad said he is unafraid of threats or sanctions.

"Iran will survive," he told the cheering Islamic students. "Iran will not give up."