The effort to formalize Islam as a political force became more evident after Indonesia claimed its independence in 1945. Shortly before this Muslim leaders had begun to struggle to institute Islam as the basis of the state. They fought to implement Islamic syariah which resulted in ?the Piagam Jakarta?, a preamble of Constitution in which it acknowledged the implementation of Islamic syariah in Indonesia. Muslim leaders again raised the issue of the possible acknowledgment of the Islamic syariah in the Constituent Assembly meetings (1956-1959) for the return to 1945 Constitution away from the 1950 Parliamentary Constitution. Both constitutional efforts failed due to strong opposition from many quarters, especially the secular nationalists. It is also noted that during this period of above constitutional struggle, the fight for formalizing Islam as an ideology was taking place in several areas, notably in West Java, Aceh, and South Sulawesi. In each case, they were led by charismatic militia commanders from ?modernist? Muslim backgrounds- Kartosuwirjo in West Java, Daud Beurueh in Aceh, and Kahar Muzakkar in South Sulawesi. They controlled significant territory during the revolution. Whatever the original cause of the rebellion, they each ended up demanding an Islamic state. This effort failed due to the intervention of the central government supported by the army. The former was perceived as a fight within the central government which is constitutional and legal. The latter was perceived as a fight between local leaders and the central government, and thus was regarded as unconstitutional and illegal. Therefore, the struggle for formal Islam in regional areas mentioned were categorized by the central government as a rebellion which had to be eradicated.

Even though the central government successfully stop the rebellion, the notion of Darul Islam (the place of Islam) continues to be held as an ideal. In South Sulawesi, for example, the name of Kahar Muzakkar is kept alive. Even now one can meet people of good intentions who still seem to live and work in a way inspired by their contact with Kahar Muzakkar. A number were his faithful followers who fought with him in the jungle.

Soon after the emergence of the New Order era, the efforts by Indonesian Muslims towards a formal Islam were successfully shifted by the New Order regime. The New Order with its close links with the army repressed the spread of political idealism and activism. It was of the opinion that religion must not be the ideological and constitutional basis of the state.

After the fall of Soeharto regime in 1998 the notion of formalizing the relationship between Islam and state was once again openly articulated. The reformasi movement gave room for discussion of this notion which had long been suppressed by the Soeharto regime. Some Islamic leaders established Islamic parties and raised the possibility of reasserting the Piagam Jakarta in a revision of the 1945 constitution. Others again sought to implement Islamic law by establishing movements. Furthermore, local autonomy has been given to regional areas as part of the reformasi allowing Muslim people to develop a notion of Islamic syariah implementation in their own areas. It is in this context, that several Muslim activists in South Sulawesi began to struggle for the implementation of Islamic Syariah in their area. As a first step a congress of ummat Islam was held in October 2000 resulting in the formation of a committee called the Komite Penegakan syariat Islam (the Committee of the Implementation of Islamic Syariah, KPSI).

This study will first overview the struggle for a formal Islam in the Indonesian context since Indonesian independence. The writer, will then sketch the socio-economic and cultural condition and characteristic of Muslims in South Sulawesi. After investigating the dynamics of Muslim movements in South Sulawesi in their efforts towards formalizing the political role of Islam, I will discuss the emergence of Darul Islam particularly in South Sulawesi. I will analyze the genesis of the movement, its subsequent development, its relationship with other Darul Islam movements in other areas, as well as its military confrontation with the government in the period of 1950 to 1965. I will also deal with the local Muslims? memory of Kahar Muzakkar?s Darul Islam. I will then track the efforts of South Sulawesi Muslims to implement formal Islam, as exemplified by the KPSI which was founded in 2000. As for the Darul Islam, I will study the background to its foundation and recent development. The relationship between the old Darul Islam movement and the emergence of the KPPSI will be analyzed as also the broader context of this movement, that is, its relationship with other similar movements in Indonesia, reviewing the evidence for links with any international network. I will also overview political changes in Indonesia from the time of independence (1945) up to the present during which these two movements emerged. The repression by the New Order regime (1966-1998) of ?Islamic politics? and the emergence of reformasi will be discussed to explain the gap between the Darul Islam and the KPPSI emergence. In the South Sulawesi context, I will deal with the responses of Muslim people, especially Muslim figures, toward old Darul Islam and the KPPSI, the responses of the local government to the KPPSI. The political motives behind the two local movements will be explored taking into consideration also cultural, economic, and religious motives.