 In Bandung , Hasan works for the Japanese occupation government and lives an ascetic lifestyle , often fasting for days on end and dunking himself into a river to refresh his body between evening and morning prayers . While there , he meets his childhood friend Rusli , who introduces Hasan to his friend Kartini . Seeing that Rusli and Kartini are atheistic Marxist @-@ Leninists , Hasan considers it his duty to return them to Islam . However , he finds himself unable to address Rusli 's arguments against religion and begins doubting his faith . Soon Hasan becomes increasingly divorced from his religious upbringing , at one time skipping the mandatory maghrib prayer to watch a movie with Kartini . Through Rusli , Hasan is introduced to people from different ideologies , including the anarcho @-@ nihilist playboy Anwar ; he also begins courting Kartini . 
