Islam started here.
In the Arabian Peninsula over 1400 years ago.
Today that's a population of 78 million people.
That sounds like a lot of Muslims
but if we go 7.500 kilometers across the Indian Ocean to this tiny little archipelago called Indonesia,
the Muslim population is far greater than just 78 million people,
it's actually more than double that.
In fact right now,
Indonesia has a Muslim population of over 200 million Muslims.
To put that into perspective,
that's larger than Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Oman, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt combined.
Right now, the island of Indonesia holds the largest population of Muslims,
more than any other country in the world.
So, how did this happen?
How does Indonesia have so many Muslims?
And more importantly,
how did these remote islands right above Australia,
almost 8 000 kilometers away from Arabia,
received the message of Islam and embraced it with open arms?
Well, let's find out.
One thing to keep in mind, is that historians and archaeologists have no agreed upon explanation
for the spread of Islam in Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia.
Okay, now we've got that out of the way.
Let me tell you something interesting.
The Muslims never conquered Indonesia,
it actually happened much differently
and it didn't just happen overnight
and historically speaking it happened only recently.
The first piece of evidence that marks the earliest existence of Islam in Indonesia
is this tombstone right here on this island called Sumatra.
This is a 13th century tombstone of a local ruler called Sultan Malik al-Saleh.
Malik had adopted an arabic name and the arabic title of Sultan
when he and his population decided to embrace Islam.
Here's what's amazing about this tombstone,
it's designed with patterns that are typical to this Indian state all the way over here called Gujarat.
So how did this Indonesian tombstone
become somehow linked with this Indian state over here?
Well, the Muslims of Gujarat were known to be these risk-taking traders
who'd gone these far and incredibly dangerous expeditions.
They formed these trade routes which were also used as a means of spreading Islam
to five regions around the world like Indonesia.
And so, the whole Muslim world now had access to Indonesia
and trade relationships formed.
This brought migration from various Muslim countries,
but it wasn't just trade that brought Islam to Indonesia.
Like for instance, there was this guy Zheng He a muslim Chinese admiral
who sailed with these massive fleet of gigantic mega ships.
During the 15th century he would go on these epic voyages
all across the Indian Ocean to form diplomatic ties
and trade partnerships with other countries.
He will take nearly 30,000 men on its 317 ships
to more than 35 countries, visiting China and all of its treasures to the world.
His story is actually quite amazing, but that's a story for another time.
Anyway Zheng He travelled with his football stadium-sized fleet
he would make a series of stops across the world like Sumatra and Java in Indonesia.
And so, he made a huge impression on the native Indonesians
and is often credited for spreading Islam in Indonesia.
Okay, so some spread to Indonesia,
but how's that different to any other country, trade can only do so much to help spread Islam,
it still doesn't explain why Indonesia has the highest number of Muslims.
This is where good old economics comes in.
The indonesians lived on these tiny remote islands
that weren't really good for cultivating fruit and produce and so they paid tribute to the hindu
and buddhist neighbors on the mainland, for precious goods, like rice.
But the Indonesians didn't want to pay the hindu and buddhist rulers anymore
and so they looked to their Muslim friends in the Middle East and Africa.
In order to form solid political ties with Muslims,
they began to embrace Islam and why not.
The natives enjoyed access to a huge Muslim trading network,
this gave Muslim allies, trading opportunities and a unique prestigious position within the region.
And so island after island, king after king, the Indonesians embraced Islam by the droves.
The conversion rate was insane, as mosques were being erected
and the adhan was being caught all across the islands.
So did the Indonesians embrace Islam to enjoy all these wonderful perks and benefits?
Well, no, not really.
Indonesia didn't just passively embrace a new religion for materialistic reasons.
Instead they opened their arms to Islam and let its teachings influence their culture, language,
food and even martial arts.
This is why Indonesia has the most amount of Muslims
than any other country in the world,
because they found something beautiful in the message of Islam and were honored by it.
The story of Indonesia proves Islam doesn't need to spread through conquering,
but by having good character and showing good treatment.
This is why there are over 200 million Muslims living there today.
May Allah bless the people of Indonesia.
Ameen.
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