Party Leadership Council until 1952, when NU broke away from Masyumi. Dahlan was also briefly a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee in Yogyakarta in 1946.

In XX NU congress in Surabaya in 1954, he was elected as Chairman of the NU Tanfidziah. Through the party he leads, he also sits as a member of the constituency until 1959. A year later, the Council of People's Representatives-Mutual Cooperation was formed and Dahlan was appointed a member. But the appointment was rejected by reason of formation of these institutions do not give opportunity to the opposition.

Through a presidential decree number 171/1967, issued on October 11, 1967, Dahlan was trusted to assume office as Minister of Religious Affairs in the Cabinet tahin I until 1971. After becoming a minister, hesat as a member of the Supreme Advisory Council until his death.When he began serving as Minister of Religious Affairs, inter-religious harmony is not so good condition. Dissolution of the PKI by the government declared the party illegal, and the arrest of his followers, more or less has caused many people increasingly diligent in visiting the houses of worship, solely in order not to be accused as members of the PKI. Such circumstances encourage their respective religious (Islamic and Christian groups) more incentive to do the activities of religious propaganda.

Relations between adherents of a religion is turned into a tension, when the group is an attractive one to spread his religion to another group. The tension was not uncommon to continue to be incidents of physical violence. In