Page 90 - INDONESIAN ISLAMIC CULTURE IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

th
Pasai Harbor. when process of islamization began Yuan and Ming dynasties in the 13 in international maritime trade. Under society. In this last aspect, it is Islam A stamp from the
and it was also the period when the and 14 centuries, China targeted trade these conditions, Samudera Pasai and as brought by international traders that kingdom of Aceh from
th
Source: Atlas Sejarah
Indonesia Masa Islam first Islamic Kingdom established. After development in Southeast Asia. This Malacca grew into Islamic empires. appears to have occupied a dominant the reign of Sultan
(Historical Atlas of previously having been concentrated was especially due to the fact that China Muslim traders dominated trading position in the archipelago. Malay rulers Alauddin Daud Shah,
Indonesia’s Islamic in the southern hemisphere of the needed a safe transport route to India, activities in the region and they became and their subjects immediately embraced year 1316 A.H./1899 A.D.
Period), 2010. island, in this period maritime trade in especially safe from the pirates whose agents of Islamization in the archipelago. Islam and turned it into the political Source: Yayasan Lontar.
Nusantara started to take an alternative number was on the increase in the They formed Muslim communities in the ideology of the kingdoms. As noted by
route that involved regions on the South China Sea. In this constellation, coastal cities of north Sumatra. historians, because Chinese present in
Sumatra’s north coast. The changed China chose Sumatra’s northern regions the archipelago purely for economic and
of route took place after the fall of as their places of transit. The regions Based on his study of Chinese sources commercial interests. At the same time,
th
the Buddhist kingdom Sriwijaya in were geographically very strategic as from the 14 century, Wang Gung Wu, there was an intensive current of Muslim
Palembang and then in Jambi in the they benefited from the trade routes came to the conclusion that Malacca was traders from different countries had not
11 century. For about three centuries between the Indian Ocean and the essentially under the direct protection of only save important implications for the
th
Sriwijaya was the dominated the trade South China Sea. the Chinese Empire. This is supported by economic development of the kingdoms,
center in south Sumatra and in the Strait China’s policies were supported by a study conducted by W.P. Groeneveldt but also brought about the Islamization of
of Malacca, but after that the kingdom the socio-political conditions of the and Rockhill, two experts on the history the region.
to decline. Military attacks from the Cola archipelago. After the fall of Sriwijaya, of the Chinese in Southeast Asia. They In the early 14 century, China withdrew
th
Empire in India are considered to have there was no polity had the dominant noted that the Chinese Empire had sent its interests in the region, necessitating
been responsible for the decline of the power in the area. At the same time, its envoy, Cheng Ho to, the kingdom of the kings of Malacca to look for new
empire. However, as explained by O.W. the kingdom of Majapahit in East Java Samudera Pasai and to Malacca in the forces to maintain their power in the
th
Wolters, there was another determinant failed to have no effective authority on 14 century and that he even escorted archipelago and they turned to Islam.
factor namely the cessation of political the north coast of Java. Therefore, the the king and the queen and their son to The Islamic conversion of the Malaccan
support from China that hitherto had region developed into the trade centers visit China. rulers took place at a crucial moment it
acted as Sriwijaya’s protector. and without any into centers of power. In this regard, it is important to note was the time when the kingdom’s major
The history of the archipelago, reflects This development was also supported that Chinese involvement in Nusantara concern was the consolidation of its
the fact that China played a decisive by the available agricultural resources, appears to have been restricted to the political authority. Therefore, as noted by
role in the political and economic especially spices. That were produced in provision of contributing facilities for Tome Pires, Sultan Iskandar Shah, the
development of the region. The political various regions of Sumatra. The areas the development of Samudera Pasai first king of Malacca, declared himself
and economic policies of the Chinese became the ports that were popular for and Malacca into Islamic kingdoms. as having converted to Islam some time
contributed much to the growth of international traders in the Indian Ocean Historical studies proof that there is no after he had secretly embraced it. In this
the northern region of Sumatra into a up to the South China Sea. Since the 13 evidence that suggests that the Chinese regard, O.W. Wolters considered the
th
bustling trading center for multinational century, the north coast of Sumatra had presence exerted influence on religious king of Malacca’s conversion to Islam
merchants. During the reigns of the been directly and extensively involved conversion and cultural formation of was a strategic political attempt to avoid

80 Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives Indonesian Islamic Culture in Historical Perspectives 81