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Brief History of Islam in Indonesia

By C. Ahmad Herman

Most of eyes in the world once conducting a talk about Islam are referring only in the

Middle East. Not to mention that there is also a fact that some people still hardly understand that the

biggest populated Muslim country in the world today is Indonesia. According to its government

survey in 2010, 87,18% of its citizen are Muslim. Therefore, the exact number is 207.176.162 out

of 237.641.326 Indonesian are the follower of the religion of last prophet, Muhammad p.b.u.h. The

enormous number of Muslim absolutely triggers many questions on how the shattered-islands-

country thousands kilometer away from the origin of religion comes to embrace widely so.

Islamization Arrival in Indonesia

There has been many dispute upon how Islam enter the land of seventeen-thousands-islands-

country. The early Islamization period had been blurred by not only various story of heroism legend

in the spirit of mysticism as probably the cause of Hinduism the religion of most these islands before Islam came- but also the political purpose. Suprayitno (2011:1) mentions that some studies

conducted on defining the history of Islamic arrival in Indonesia by C. Snouck Hurgronje (1960),

J.P. Moquette (1914) S.Q. Fatimi (1963), Syed Muhammad Naguib Al-Attas (1963), Haji Abdul Karim Amrullah HAMKA- (1964), Thomas Arnold (1969). There are, at least, two main theories concluded from those studies. The theories named after the place of origin upon those who spread

Islam first in Nusantara (the old name of Indonesia): 1) Gujarat Theory, 2) Mekkah Theory. There

are , of course, numerous minor theories for this, for instance, Chinese Theory and Persian Theory.

Gujarat Theory is believed to be emerged the first time in the work of C. Snouck Hurgronje

(1857-1936), Larabie et les Indes Neerlandaises. However, later studies proved that this theory is a copy-paste of the early Orientalist thinker, Dr. Jan Pijnappel (1822-1901) from the same university

where he earned a degree, Leiden University, Netherland. This theory stressed the argument that

Islam which overwhelmed those islands are not originally from Arab in the early periods of Islamic

History (7-8th

centuries), rather, he suggested that Islam first arrived in Indonesia through the

merchant from Gujarat and Malabar, India, late in the 13th

century. One of their proof of their

argument is, referred the travelling journal of Marco Polo who found the Islamic Kindom Ferlec

(Peureulak-local dialect) in Aceh, 1292 M. It then concludes that Islam came to these islands in the

13th

centuries and spread upmost by Muslim from Gujarat and Malabar India. This theory was then

popularized by Hurgronje, since he was pretending to be a good Muslim (dress and act as a good

Muslim even preach and mingle with Muslim scholars which proved later on that he married to a

daughter of well-known indigene Muslim scholar) while serving the government of Netherland.

That is assumed to be the strongest answer why many scholars afterwards as seen to be following

his traces. Many have believed that Hurgronjes effort is merely in the sake of discredit and belittling the mutual Islamic bounds of Indonesian and Arab itself. This thought as mentioned by

the Indonesian modern historians, Dr. HAMKA and Prof. A.M. Suryanegara, and Malayan

scholars, Prof. Sayed Naquib Al Attas , and many others scholars agrees on them. Unfortunately,

Gujarat Theory is the only valid interpretation that has been adapted by Indonesian government until today. The only theory that legally forcibly given to Indonesian generation despite the three

Seminar on the Islamization of Indonesia-Malay held in Medan (1963), Banda Aceh (1978) and

Kuala Simpang (1980) which scientifically proved that Islam came directly from Arab country,

which is so called Mekkah Theory.

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Mekkah Theory says that Islamization of Indonesia (and Malay area in common) early took

a place within the 7th

century directly from Arab the origin of emerging islam area, of course- by various types of people; Caliphs delegation, merchant or event traveler. As HAMKA (1963: 8) mentioned that there was a Chinese early traveler witness who wrote in his journal about an

Arabian observer (who also believed as Caliphs delegation) to observe a Kingdom name Kalingga (in the Mid-Java island) in the year 674 AD. According to history, as Rasulullah p.b.u.h died in 632

AD, so 674 AD is recorded as the year of Yazid bin Muawiyah, the second Caliph of Umayyad era.

Other proves can be found in the work of Prof. Al Attas, Prof. Fatimy et al. referring to the notes of

Arabian traveler al Masudi who also observe the biggest well-known kingdom of its time, Kalingga, Middle Java. There are other proves that eventually concludes, as mention in prior

paragraph, the three Seminar on the Islamization of Indonesia-Malay which absolutely agree to this

argumentation and regard this is the most valid and vivid history proven about how and when the

Islamization of Indo-Malayan area, particularly Indonesia.

Summary of the Spreading Islam throughout Indonesian Archipelago

The cloud of Islamic history does not stop for only the how and when the Islamic preaching

this archipelago. Instead, the colonization of Netherland for more than 350 years and Japan for 3.5

years is assumed to take a big part of blurring its following history. However, the truth of

Indonesian Islamic history has been searched and written by several historians who pursue the

perfectness in providing the true history in order to guide the next generation instead of leaving

them lost in the darkness of confusion.

The old name of Indonesia is Nusantara (Nuswantara in Sanskrit or Sanskertas word) which has a close meaning to archipelago. These archipelago, by Netherland the colonizer, was later on been called as Mooie Indie (means Beautiful India) and also Nederlandsh-Indie or Hindia-

Belanda (means India in the governmental area of Netherland). While the name Indonesia itself

comes after Indo or Indu (means Hindu) and Nesia (means Archipelago). The words India for those

names above refers to the Hindu religion instead of nation or people of India as we know today.

The referring Hindu word which prevalently used to describe this archipelago is none but the historically the religion which vastly populated these areas. Hindu had been in the past governs

these island as the Hindu Kingdoms found, for instance; Kutai (4th

century ), Tarumanagara (358669 AD), Kalingga (abad ke-6-7

th century), Medang/Old Mataram (7521006 AD), Kerajaan

Kahuripan (10061045 AD), Kerajaan Sunda/Pajang (9321579 AD), Kediri (10451221 AD), Singasari (12221292 AD), and Majapahit (12931500 AD). Not only Hindu, the lands also ruled by some Buddhist Kingdom; Sriwijaya (7 -13

th century), Syailendra (8-9

th century), and

Dharmasraya (14th

century).

Islam spread to the inlanders peacefully rather than through war as usually accused by

western orientalist. Since its arrival in the seventh century, through the Islamic preacher and

merchant it is spread slowly. There also were found some of the descendant of prophet or so called

Sayyid to marry the indigene, mostly prominent family. This slow works of Muslim preachers and

scholars finally showing a vivid future when the first time in 1292 the Islamic kingdom was

established, Pasai or also known as Samudera Pasai in Aceh, Sumatra Island, which is the most

western area of this archipelago. This establishment as later on noticed as the most remarkable steps

towards how fast Islam was spread out throughout this country. This achievement somehow played

a role as the model for effective way in spreading Islam message to these lands.

In the history of Islamic spreading in Indonesia, almost all of Indonesian Muslim recognizes

the preaching of a group of scholars called Wali Songo (or Nine Awliya or close meaning to Saint in the Christian history). When the Islamic Kingdom had been established, in Java Island which is the most important island in the history of Hindu-Buddhist in Indonesia- those nine scholars mainly

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focus on their preaching there, choosing a closest place to several big kingdoms exist in those time,

for instance: Majapahit Kingdom (East Java) and Pajang Kingdom (West Java). Those two

kingdom were among the biggest at the period. And in addition, Majapahit was the only kingdom in

Indonesian history that have ever succeeded in conquering all the islands in modern Indonesia

today, even Tumasik (Singapura today), and Malay Peninsula (Malaysia and South Thailand today).

Prof. HAMKA (1963) mention the important correlation between Pasai Kingdom and Wali Songo.