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In the aftermath of the Japanese surrender, Soekarno’s vision for creating an Indonesian state sidelined, in the name of urgency and necessity, Islamic and leftist requests to consider alternative approaches. It was within this context that the Pancasila gained political favour against Islam and that the ‘Jakarta Charter’ was dropped from the constitution’s preamble. Yet, as the 1945 text was to be ‘temporary’, the religious faction was hopeful that things could still be changed.

Whilst political Islam had lost ground at the national level, Masyumi and its armed wings continued to gain considerable support in the Priangan, at both the military and political levels. The Dutch invasion of West Java in July 1947 and the subsequent diplomatic talks further strengthened this trend, pushing West Java towards independent developments and transforming it into a stronghold of the Islamic nationalist movement. Sabilillah and Hizboellah troops controlled the region, challenging the Dutch as much as the Republican soldiers. Both Kartosuwiryo and the national Masyumi leadership proclaimed a holy war and demanded the establishment of an Islamic state.

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