Masjkur was prominently involved in the struggle for independence in the days of the Japanese occupation, as a member of the Board of Inquiry Efforts Preparation of Indonesian Independence. Masjkur was also noted as the founder of Homeland Defenders (PETA), a Japanese backed militia made in preparation of a possible allied invasion, and a predecessor to the Indonesian National Armed Forces. When the battle of Surabaya broke out, he supported the Laskar Hizbullah with his own wealth. His Islamic boarding school is also being used to train Laskar Hizbullah's forces.[3]
