ABSTRACT
The overwhelming majority of Indonesians about 85 per cent call themselves Muslim, but political organisations committed to explicitly Islamic goals have never been able to muster sufficient mass support to control the government and establish a state based on Islamic principles. The national ideology of Panca Sila (Five Principles), which is formulated by Sukarno become the basic philosophy of the constitution, is regarded by many Muslim groups as intended to block their aspirations to form an Islamic state. Indonesia has experienced three distinct political phases since the final victory of the nationalist forces over the Dutch in 1949. The military leadership's lack of sympathy for Muslim aspirations is demonstrated immediately after Partai Muslimin Indonesia (Parmusis) formation when the Muslim parties brought up the old issue of the Jakarta Charter. The basic dilemma of political Islam in Indonesia arises from its inability to muster more than minority support from a people the overwhelming majority of whom describe them as Muslim.
