Converting Belief, Connecting People: The Kingdoms and the Dynamics of Islamization in Pre-Colonial Archipelago

Abstract

The pre-colonial Archipelago period of Indonesian history witnessed rapid Islamization. The kingdoms or sultanates served as the centre of emerging Islamic socio-political and cultural dynamics. In this article, the crucial role that the kingdoms played in facilitating Islamization will be examined, giving strong emphasis to how they emerged as hubs for ‘ulamā’ who Islamized the people of the Archipelago. This process created an Islamic network with the ‘ulamā’ introducing rulers and society to Islam. Islamization unified the people in the “lands below the winds” under one religion. This connecting process was further facilitated by the rise of Malay language alongside the Jawi (Arabic) script as a medium for intra-regional communication as well as Islamic expression. The experience of being Islamized created a collective memory of being part of “the others” and laid a strong foundation for the unification of Indonesian society today.DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v25i2.5682

Malay Deli in North Sumatra: History and Today’s Existence

“…The custom is a collective phenomenon that underlies Malay culture. In the past, Malays were kingdoms in the archipelago (Embong et al, 2016;Burhanudin, 2017;Burhanudin, 2018). A king must uphold Malay customs in exercising his power over his people.…”

Islamic cultural and Arabic linguistic influence on the languages of Nusantara; From lexical borrowing to localized Islamic lifestyles

“…Without these Islamic concepts from Arabic, Indonesia's founding fathers would have had great difficulty in formulating the Pancasila (Y. Latif 2018; J. Burhanudin 2018;Abdurrahman Wahid 2007;Kuntowijoyo 1994). Arabic influence can also be seen in the naming of state institutions, such as the Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat (People's Consultative Assembly) and Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (House of Representatives), exhibiting the Arabic loans majlis 'council' and raʿiyya 'the people' in addition to those mentioned above.…”

Etika Profetik Bagi Pengelola Keuangan Negara

“…Dalam ajaran Melayu dikenal istilah Lemu (ilmu), yaitu semacam penafsiran ter hadap ayat AlQur'an dan Sunnah Nabi, berimplikasi kepada pembukaan intuisi dan inspirasi untuk memperoleh kekuatan spiritual yang dapat menunjang aktivitas mental (Burhanudin, 2018;Hassan, 2016). Dalam tradisi Melayu pengetahuan pertama yang diajarkan adalah pengetahuan tentang gejala alam.…”

“…Dengan memanfaatkan alam secara arif dan bijaksana serta mengambil hikmah dan pelajaran darinya (tadabur ayat kauniyah Tuhan), maka terbukalah pintu rezeki dari segala penjuru, baik di darat maupun di laut, dengan terbukanya pintu rezeki, maka tercukupilah segala kebutuhan. Untuk itu lah orang Melayu sangat menghormati alam dan menjadikan alam sebagai sumber ilmu untuk kemudian dari ilmu itu diperoleh teknik atau cara mengolah alam, sehingga mereka dapat berikhtiar atau berkerja dalam memenuhi kebutuhan hidup (Burhanudin, 2018). Bagi masyarakat Melayu berkerja ada lah fitrah manusia dalam berikhtiar kepada Sang Pencipta.…”