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Islam, Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary Indonesia67Natsir distanced himself from political involvement duringthe first months of Japanese occupation. At this time, the mayorof Bandung, Admadinata, who worked under theadministration of the Japanese Military Governor in West Java,asked Natsir to head Biro Pendidikan dan Pengajaran KotaprajaBandung (the Education and Teaching Bureau of Bandung).Based on his ten years of experience in educationaladministration, Natsir agreed to this request. In his spare time,he led Majlis Islam Bandung (Bandung Islamic Council), whichconstituted a communication forum for %u2018ulamas, religiousteachers and preachers in this city. This council also constituteda semi-official body for the Bandung ulama in relation to theJapanese Military Government, in which they could openly putforward pleas and wishes. During this period, Natsir%u2019seducational activities were manifested in his major contributionto the Sekolah Tinggi Islam (STI - Islamic High School) locatedin Jakarta. This was the first tertiary education specializing inIslamic studies in the history of modern Indonesia, and it becamethe seed of other similar education in the era of independentIndonesia.Natsir%u2019s position as the Secretary of STI, in which AbdulKahar Muzakkir was the rector and Mohammad Hatta wasthe head of the Curator Board, enabled him to return to politicalactivities. There was no significant political activity in Bandungduring the Japanese occupation. Also, in Jakarta, Natsir held aposition in Majlis Sjura Muslimin Indonesia (Masyumi), afederation of socio-religious Islamic organizations, which wasbasically not political. To some extent, Masyumi was thefederative organization to replace the role of MIAI, which wasinfluential in the Dutch colonial era but, as also with other