Ambon (island in the Moluccas, Indonesia)

Ambon is an island of the Moluccas (Maluku) in Indonesia. Nearly half of its population, about 25,000 people, are Muslim, especially in the northern part. ¹

Islam had been introduced in Hitu, a supply station for the East Javanese spice trade, before the Portuguese arrived in 1512, and it spread to other villages. According to local tradition, this was done by chiefs who had travelled to East Java, Pasai and Mecca. ¹

After the turbulent times of the 16th and 17th centuries the Muslims remained a stationary, neglected but prosperous community, in which the original language and much of the old costume are preserved. ¹