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ORIGINS OF ISLAM IN INDONESIA

Anthony Garcia

History 145
Professor Baker
November 26, 2014

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Indonesia is an archipelago country whose structure has developed over a long

history in the making. Although not too many people are familiar with the actual
country in particular, its Assets are well known, and not to be forgotten, worldwide.
When we think Indonesia, we think high population, spice trades, and of course, the
most populous Muslim state in the world. But where did all these Muslims come from?
Wasnt Islam a religion founded in the Middle East? Shouldnt they be Hindu or
Buddhist? To answer all of these I had took into effect one, simple question.
When and how was Islam introduced into Indonesia and why did it take root?
Islam, being one of the youngest, yet highly influential religions in the world, is
the monotheistic belief that faith was revealed through Muhammad as the prophet of
Allah; the one and only god.i Origins of Islam can be dated as far back to 7th century
Saudi Arabia, when the prophet Muhammad is said to have had an angelic visitation,
and to have dictated the Quran; the holy book of Muslim people.ii However, according
to the texts of the Quran, it is said that the Quran existed far before Muhammads time,
and it was delivered by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad from Allah himself.iii
Once Islam was settled into Arabia it was quick to be torn apart; not necessarily
by others, but by themselves. By the 8th century there were already separate branches
under Islam. One of the branches, SufismThe concept of Islam in a more mystical and
spiritual waywas one of the first to educate and propagate the people and spread
Islam.iv

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Africa was the first region to be exposed to Islam outside of Arabia. By the 8th
century, Islam will have made a great leap into the massive continent. It was here in
Africa, on well established trade routes, that merchants had begun to colonize the
idea of a new religion gradually spreading south of the Sahara. Archeological evidence
states that these traveling merchants had mobile wooden mosques, holding up to ten
people, for them to pray. During this time it is said that the coastal towns along the red
sea, which are now known as the very heart of Islam, had played a large role and made
a big influence on the spread of Islam.v
By the 11th century, Islam had achieved a massive spread through Africa. By this
point in time several cities along the east coast of Africa had already established
permanent stone mosques. We also begin to see the conversion of local Rulers. One
region in specific, Kilwa, now known as modern day Tanzania, had achieved a fullscale Muslim dynasty. The growth of Islam will gradually expand for the next few
centuries; soon enough, it will reach Malaya and Indonesia.vi
In the 13th century Ibn Batuta had visited Mali, and although he was impressed
with the ways of the native peoples rituals and prayers, he disapproved of many
practices he considered more or less African. Some of these practices included the
minimal clothing of women and the dancing rituals in which masks were worn. Despite
his personal dislikes towards the culture, Islam was still successful on influencing
northern Africa, and still remains dominant today.vii

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For centuries Arabia has been in many trade relations with the Indian
subcontinent. It is said that the birth of Islam is what caused the Arabs to become such a
prominent cultural force in the world. In fact, Islamized Arab traders were the first to
bring Islam to India. Earliest recorded dates of settled Muslim Arabs can go back to
early 7th century.viii By the 8th century, part of India had been conquered and the
province of Sindh had been created by the Arabian army, led by Muhammad bin
Quasim. This province is known today as the country of Pakistan, and is also the
easternmost province of the Umayyad Caliphate.
For the next few centuries after the creation of Pakistan, Islam will be a constant
threat to India and its Hindus. Many warlords will conduct raids, attacks, and force
conversions over the years, but few are successful enough to be remembered. Those
who are, however, are recognized because of the significant roles they played in
spreading Islam through India. For example, Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud played an
important role by converting locals (Hindus) to Islam in the 11th century. The most
important event however came after the 12th century, when Muhammad of Ghor
successfully invaded part of India and eventually created the Delhi Sultinate.ix
The Delhi Sultinate, which was a Muslim-based Turkic kingdom, will be known
to rule large parts of India for some 300 years. Within this period of time it will have
had five dynasties, all ruling Turkic except the last, the Lodi, which will have ruled as
an Afghan Dynasty. Throughout these Dynasties more and more of India will be

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conquered, but Sultans will still be unable to reunite the Indian subcontinent. We do see
however that the Dehli Sultinate was able to hold off the terrifying Mongolian Empire,
being one of very few states to do so.x
Although the Sultinate had caused great destruction to the history of Southeast
Asia, such as its ancient temples, it was also a time of great creation, such as IndoIslamic architecture, and enthroned one of the very few female Islamic rulers in
history.xi xii When the Delhi Sultinate was to finally fall in the 14th century, it would be to
the Mughal Empire, which would soon replace it.xiii
The 13th century marked the beginning of Islams final push into Southeast Asia.
The beginning force behind this movement was none other than powerful Muslim
India. Throughout the 13th century Islamic traders will begin to make their way deeper
south, and by the end of the century Muslim settlements will be established in Sumatra,
one of the closet Islands to India, and part of Indonesia.xiv
Now one may think, with the information provided, that Muslim Arab traders
will continue to be the primary source of Islam spreading through Indonesia. In this
case, it is not, but rather like yeast. Once the traders introduced the concept of Islam, it
slowly soaked into the culture of the Indonesian people. Some Muslim traders would
marry local women, and possibly into families of the Ruling elite. Influence over the
people began when local rulers and royalty adopted the idea and converted to Islam.

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His/her loyal subjects, just like today, would admire their leader and want to mirror
his/her actions, which spread Islam in a slow but steady way. xv
Indonesia will continue to be consumed by Islam year by year, but it isnt the
only one. At the end of the 14th century northeast Malaya, Brunei, the southwestern
Philippines and some courts of coastal East and Central Java had Islam all over
themselves. By the 15th century Muslim kingdoms had dominated many regions,
including northern Sumatra.xvi
Looking back however, one can see that originally Indonesia, like India, was a
land of Hindus and Buddhist. So what really motivated people of a polytheistic religion
to convert to Islam? It was simply the Deva-raja, or the Divine king the one, main
god that allowed the Hindus to keep part of their belief, while at the same time
fulfilling the Islam requirement of believing in Allah, the one and only.xvii
Historically, Indonesia is most famous for one thing, Europeans and the Spice
trades. The 16th century marked the beginning of European colonization of Indonesia.
Many different kingdoms faced different threats, and the majority ended up being
overcome. When facing Hinduism, leaders would use the Deva-raja to entice the people
to convert. But facing the Europeans would be a much larger issue, and the Indonesians
quickly learned that adopting Islam was the best way to receiving powerful patrons.xviii
Because Indonesia had the Europeans as their new trading partners, there was no
reason to convert back to Hinduism, especially since the Europeans didnt mind the

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idea behind the Deva-raja. While the Dutch were there imply for business reasons only,
the Spanish and Portuguese had a more offensive approach, seeking gold, gospel, and
glory. Despite the Spanish and Portuguese trying to spread Christianity, the Dutch had
no intentions on doing so, making the efforts render less, and Indonesia keeping
Islam.xix At this point in time, Indonesia had become a monster of a monopoly and had
established many trading routes, allowing for Islam to spread farther than ever. Local
Muslim traders who had left the large ports and moved to smaller ones helped spread
Islam to the rural inhabitants of Indonesia.xx
Towards the beginning of the 20th century Indonesia was cooking up something
revolutionary. Indonesia was well propagated at the time as a country resisting
colonialism. Also, a movement was being made on a national level. Muhammad
'Abduh, an Islamic scholar, was inspiring a movement to return the people to their
original scripture of religion. Executing his plan, Abduh built schools which combined
secular ideas and Islam into one single curriculum which trained women as though it
were preaching for them.xxi Because of acts and movements like these, the Indonesian
society was quick to becoming a more communal than class based society. xxii
Once Indonesia had declared independence in 1945, it was known as the second
largest Muslim-majority country in the world. However, once Pakistan and Bangladesh
had separated, it was crowned as the most populous Muslim country in the world. But
now that Indonesia had become its own country, there was much controversy about

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Islam and how it would play a role in Indonesian politics. Eventually it would be
decided that Indonesia would accustom a civil code rather than an Islamic one.xxiii
Today Indonesia has over 252million people, which makes it the worlds 4th most
populous country. xxivWhile free religion is allowed in Indonesia, only six are officially
recognized by the government: Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and Confucianism.xxv The Muslim population alone weighs in at over 87% of
the entire Indonesian population, the equivalent to 237million people. The majority of
these Muslims are Sunni, which is sometimes referred to as the orthodox version of
Islam.xxvi
After asserting my question, researching my topic and constructing ideas, I am in
good spirits to say that I have undoubtedly answered my question, and also believe that
I have learned something far more meaningful than what I ever could have imagined.
And now I may claim, with my head held high, that through a wondrous search I have
discovered the Origins of Islam in Indonesia and why it has taken root.

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Notes

Islamic Circle of North America, Last modified November 23, 2014, http://www.whyislam.org/islam/what-is-

submission/
ii

All about Religion Organization, According to Secular History, Accessed November 23, 2014,

http://www.allaboutreligion.org/origin-of-islam.htm
iii

All about Religions Organization, According to Islam, Accessed November 23, 2014,

http://www.allaboutreligion.org/origin-of-islam.htm
iv

Sir Thomas Walker Arnold, The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith

(Westminster, A: Constable and co., 1896)

v

Bamber Gascoigne, History of Islam, Accessed November 23, 2014,

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ewf
vi

Gascoigne, History of Islam

vii

Gascoigne, History of Islam

viii

H.G. Rawlinson, The Ancient and Medieval history of India (Bharatiya Kala Prakashan, 2003)

ix

William Logan, Malabar Manual (Asian Educational Services, 1996)

Pradeep Barua, The State at War in South Asia (University of Nebraska Press, 2005)

xi

Richard Eaton, Temple Desecration and Indo-Muslim States, (Journal of Islamic Studies, 2000)

xii

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012)

xiii

The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought

xiv

Bamber Gascoigne, History of Islam, Accessed November 23, 2014

xv

Rhoads Murphey, A History of Asia (Harpercollins College, 1992)

xvi

Richard Martin, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World Vol. 2 (Macmillan Reference USA, 2003)

xvii

Szymon Kikla, How did Islam become the dominant religion in Indonesia, (2011)

http://www.quora.com/How-did-Islam-become-the-dominant-religion-in-Indonesia
xviii

Szymon Kikla, How did Islam become the dominant religion in Indonesia

xix

Szymon Kikla, How did Islam become the dominant religion in Indonesia

xx

Ehito Kimura, Indonesia and Islam Before and After 9/11 (Peacework, 2002)

xxi

Martin, Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World Vol. 2

xxii

Ricklefs, A History of Modern Indonesia since c.1300, 2nd Edition (London: MacMillan, 1991)

xxiii

Kimura, Indonesia and Islam Before and After 9/11

xxiv

Badan Pusat Statistik, Central Bureau of Statistics: Census 2010

xxv

Yang, Heriyant, The History and Legal Position of Confucianism in Post Independence Indonesia (2005)

xxvi

Sensus Penduduk 2010 (Jakarta, Indonesia: Badan Pusat Statistik, 2010)