The Muhammadiyah movement was characterized by its non-political stance from the outset as we have seen above (Chapter 3, p. 73). Besides the factor of circumspect avoidance of government repressions of “Muslim fanatics”, the position was a manifestation of the high value placed by the movement on an individual Muslim's personal faith which could uphold self-reliant and independent Muslim life under any political condition. The achievement of religious devotion was regarded as a matter lying within the range of an individual's personal control in whatever situation. A religious community composed of such individuals could transcend any particular forms of secular polity. Throughout the Dutch period, the Muhammadiyah's stance towards the colonial government was rather passive and defensive; if the government interfered with Islamic matters, it certainly reacted to defend its interests with full strength, but otherwise it took no political initiatives of its own. Formation of or affiliation with political organizations was completely left to individual choice. Towards the latter half of the 1930s, an Islamic political party, Partai Islam Indonesia (PII), closely connected with the Muhammadiyah, was formed. However, the party's role was a “diplomatic” representation, i.e., negotiations with the colonial government and other secular political parties for the defence of Islamic interests. The basic non-political position of the Muhammadiyah helped to maintain a stable condition favourable for the steady growth of its membership and the establishment of educational and social welfare institutions.

THE POST-WAR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Conventionally, the history of Indonesian politics in the next two decades (1940s–1950s) has been viewed as a history of the failure of Muslims’ political attempt at making independent Indonesia an Islamic state. Under the Japanese occupation authorities, Muslim political forces acquired organizational strength and a stature in national politics comparable to that of civil servants and secular nationalists.