Islam in Southeast Asia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islam is the most widely practiced religion in Southeast Asia, numbering approximately 240 million adherents which translate to about 40% of the entire population, with majorities in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Significant minorities are located in the other Southeast Asian states. Most Muslims in Southeast Asia belong to the Sunni sect and within it, the Shafi`i school of fiqh, or religious law. It is the official religion in Malaysia and Brunei while it is one of the five official faiths in Indonesia.

[edit] Islamization of Southeast Asia

Muslim traders first came to the region soon after the founding of the religion in the seventh century, however, the religion did not spread to significant parts of the population until the 13th century when the early Islamic kingdoms with the first being Pasai in Sumatra, were established.

There were several theories to the Islamization process in Southeast Asia. The first theory is trade. The expansion of trade among West Asia, India and Southeast Asia helped the spread of the religion as Muslim traders brought Islam to the region. The second theory is the role of missionaries or Sufis. The Sufis missionaries played a significant role in spreading the faith by syncretising Islamic ideas with exisitng local beliefs and religious notions. Finally, the ruling classes embraced Islam and that further aided the permeation of the religion throughout the region. The ruler of the region’s most important port - Malacca embraced Islam in the 15th century, heralding a period of acclerated conversion of Islam throughout the region as the religion provided a unifying force among the ruling and trading classes.

This process of conversion was a peaceful and was contrary of popular notion of the religion “ spread being spread by the sword”.

[edit] Comtemporary Islam in Southeast Asia

Islam in Southeast Asia is muli-faceted and multi layered.Different interpretations of the faith resulted in a varieties of groups. In Indonesia, there is the Nahdlatul Ulama which preaches closely to the Shafi`I school of legal accretion and the Muhammadiyah whose outlook is more modernist blending with Islamic thoughts. Along with this two major groups, other Islamic groups also played a big role in Indonesian society, politics and economy, with their followers forming Islamic civil groups and political parties.

Since the late 1970s, an Islamic resurgence took place in the region. Dakwah movements mushroomed throughout Southeast Asia. These movements in general, aim to create a strong Islamic identity among the Muslims. As a result, Islam began to assume a larger role in public life, underlined by the increased donning of headscarves among Muslim women. Economic growth resulted in modest affluence which translated in more religious investments like the Haj and Islamic literature. The Malaysian government too promotes Islam through its Islamization policies covering society, economics and education and most recently, Islam Hadhari.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country today.

[edit] References

• Heidhues, Mary, Somers. Southeast Asia: A Concise History. (London: Thames and Hudson. 2000)
• Mohd Taib Osman. "Islamisation of the Malays: A Transformation of Culture." In Bunga Rampai: Some Aspects of Malay Culture. KL: DBP, 1988 pp. 261-272.