Intro: Southeast Asia contains over 500 million Muslims, compared to the Middle East and North Africa which contain just over 300 million Muslims.[1][2] Islam in Southeast Asia is heterogeneous and is manifested in many different ways. Some places in Southeast Asia, Islam is adapted to coexist with already existent local traditions.[2] Mysticism is a defining characteristic of Islam in Southeast Asia, with a large following of Sufism. Mystic forms of Islam fit in well with already established traditions. [2]The adaptation of Islam to local traditions is seen as a positive thing by Muslims in Southeast Asia.[3] Islam is part of everyday life in Southeast Asia and is not separated from "non-religious realms."[4]
Islam in Southeast Asia is neglected in Western study of Islam which centers around the Middle East.[5]
Addition to history section: Southeast Asia was first exposed to Islam by merchants from India and the Middle East, via trade interactions with islands in current day Indonesia.[2]
The first written sources of Islam in Southeast Asia in 916 AD from a merchant describing his experience in 1851 on the Island of Sumatra.[6] Over time a series of Muslim port villages emerged on the scarcely populated coast.[6] Islamic teachers from these port villages ventured to the interior of Sumatra.[6] Over time these ports attracted Muslims from India, China, and the Arabian peninsula.[6] These communities surpassed their utilitarian functions for trade and were integrated into the global network of Islam.[6] By the end of the 15th centuries, several areas of northern Sumatra, including what is now Java, were governed by Muslim rulers[6]. It wasn’t until 1641 that the first Sultan took their title in what is now Java.[6]Islam initially arrived on the Coast of Sumatra, and spread down and around the coast to the Malacca strait and jumped across the straight to the Malay Peninsula.[5]
Islam was popular in Southeast Asia because it, unlike previous belief systems could be used to validate a ruler's power through the divine. Islam spread throughout the Indonesian archipelago slowly and with force.[2]
Colonial Period:
South East Asia is a world region made up of nations sharing little more than geographical proximity with one another. What it means to be Southeast Asian is vague and can mean very different things to the people of the arbitrarily assigned world region that is comprised of Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The heterogeneous nature of Southeast Asia combined with the widely varying practices and meanings of Islam means Islam in Southeast Asia has a multitude of variations in practice and belief. Islam in Southeast Asia has been adapted to varying local norms across Southeast Asia. The Abangan are the dominant group of Muslims in Indonesia[5]. The practices of the Abangan are heavily influenced by mysticism and embody a unique form of Islamic practice that incorporates rituals inherited from their pre Islamic ancestors.[5]
Modern SEA:
Pilgrimage to the the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.[7] The Hajj was made easier by the advent of the steamship in the 19th century.[8] As the Hajj became more popular throughout Southeast Asia, Arabic and the Arabian brand of Islam were integrated further into the lives of Muslims in Southeast Asia.[8] In accordance with the body of scholarly work on Islam in the Southeast Asia, the Hajj from Southeast garnered little to no attention.[9]
- ^ Street, 1615 L.; NW; Washington, Suite 800; Inquiries, DC 20036 202 419 4300 | Main 202 419 4349 | Fax 202 419 4372 | Media (2012-12-18). "Muslims". Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d e "Southeast Asia and Islam". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 588, Islam: Enduring Myths and Changing Realities (Jul., 2003), pp. 149-170.
{{cite journal}}:|volume=has extra text (help) - ^ Fealy, Greg; Hooker, Virginia (2006). Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia : a contemporary sourcebook. Singapore: ISEAS Publications. p. 411.
- ^ Hooker, M.B. Islam in South-East Asia. Leiden ; New York : E.J. Brill.
- ^ a b c d Denny, Fredrick Mathewson (1987). Islam. San Francisco: Harper & Row. p. 6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Taylor, Jean Gelman Taylor (2003). Indonesia: Peoples and History. New Haven: Yale. p. 66.
- ^ "BBC - Religions - Islam: Five Pillars of Islam". Retrieved 2016-11-22.
- ^ a b "Focus On... - Oxford Islamic Studies Online". www.oxfordislamicstudies.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
- ^ "Hajj Histories: Stories from Southeast Asian Pilgrims". www.international.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2016-11-22.