Islam+in+Southeast+Asia

=ISLAM IN SOUTHEAST ASIA = 

Trading ports were the major component of the spread of Islam throughout Southeast Asia. Goods from China were transporterd to Southeast Asia on Arab or Indian vessels. Shrivijaya was a farflung trading empire which connected Southeast Asia to the rest of the world. At first, the spread of Islam to Shrivijaya was fruitless, as many Shrivijaya officials were devout Buddhists. In the 13th century, with the fall of the Shrivijaya, many incentives opened up for traders and merchants to convert peoples to Islam. The spread of Islam in southeast Asia concentrated on voluntary conversions through peaceful contacts with the people rather than oppression and force. Islam impressed the peoples of southeast Asia through the high number of peoples in the New World that had already converted to the religion. The first areas in southeast Asia to be converted were small port centers on the northern coast of Sumatra. This soon spread down to the strait of Malacca and Malaya. Malacca had come to replace Shrivijaya as the new trading empire in southeast Asia and became the key to the widespread conversions which took place in the surrounding areas. Malacca had helped to urbanize surrounging areas to Islam and so Islam then swept over the lands of east Sumatra, Demak, Celebes, and the spice islands all the way down to the southern Phillipines. The trading ports were links and crucial to the high concetration of conversions. However, Sufi missionaries made up the other influencing factors in the spread of Islam. The Sufi missionaries played a significant role in the conversions by syncretising Islamic ideas with established beliefs and traditions in the local areas. Islam was welcomed in southeast Asia, the support of upper class leaders such as Malacca Sultanate persuaded the peoples of Islam's unifying benefits.

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