South+East+Asia

Islam has spread by trade in South East Asia. Muslim merchants and sailors brought local peoples to ideas and rituals of new faith and impress them on how much the world has already been converted. Sufis were carried by sailors to different parts of southeast Asia to convert people. In the 13th century, small port centers on the northern coast of Sumatra were the first to be converted to Islam. Starting from Malacca, Islam spread along the coasts of Malaya to east Sumatra and to Demak. The coastal areas were mostly accept to the new faith. Conversion of Islam linked enhance personal ties and common basis in Muslim law that regulates business culturally and economically to merchants/ports of India, Middle East, and Mediterranean. Bali and most of the mainland of southeast Asia remain largely impervious to the spread of Islam. Goods from China were transferred from east Asian vessels to Arab/ Indian ships. Products from west were loaded into the Chinese ships at the ports to be carried to Asia. In the 7th and 8th centuries C.E. sailors and ships from southeast Asia became a part of the seaborne trade. Products of southeast Asian was an important export to China, India, and Mediterranean region. Coastal trade of India soon was under the control of Muslims. By the 13th century, when the Shrivijaya collapse, the determination of establishing Muslim trading centers has increase and open up for the widespread of Islam.
 * South East Asia **
 * **Islam Spread**
 * **Growth Of Trade**
 * **Urbanization and Islam**

Indian architecture styles and artistic motifs were adopted by the Arabs. India has influence the Arabs. Since Islam had come primarily from India, it was also spread by Sufis which blended many other beliefs with Islam. In order for the Sufis to win converts on islands in South East Asia, they allowed the inhabitants to keep pre-Islamic beliefs and practices. Some pre-Islamic religious beliefs and rituals had also been incorporated into Islam. Javanese puppet shadow plays were refined and made became more central to popular beliefs and practices. Countries in South East Asia did not react much to Islam since Hindu-Buddhist dynasties contested the spread in the area. Hinduism and Buddhism had also taken deep root on some islands in pre-Islamic times which made these areas impervious to the spread of Islam. By being allowed to keep pre-Islamic beliefs, social interaction remained intact and women retained a stronger position then they would have if they were in either the Middle East or India.
 * **Architecture**
 * **Syncretism and Islam**
 * **Reactions to Islam**