Java
جاوى
The largest island of what is now Indonesia. Arslan's chapter on Islam in Java and its neighbours draws on Dutch scholarship and a lecture by Sayyid Isma'il al-Attas. It notes that Brahmanism and Buddhism were the dominant religions before Islam, that Islam spread through trade and seafaring, and that the tomb of Malik Ibrahim at Gresik is among the earliest Muslim graves there. The population figures he gives come from Dutch censuses reported second-hand and need checking.
At a glance
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Java is the largest of the islands of the East Indian archipelago, known today as Indonesia. Shakib Arslan describes it in a chapter on "Islam in Java and its neighbours", drawing on a lecture and Dutch books. 1
What Arslan reports
He reports that before Islam its people followed Brahmanism and Buddhism, and that Islam spread there through trade and navigation. He counts the tomb of Malik Ibrahim at Gresik among the oldest known Muslim graves there. 1
He presents population and Muslim figures as they appear in statistics he cites from Dutch sources. He holds that the Dutch government limited the spread of Islam, and regulated the affairs of Muslims as far as served its authority. 1
A note
This page rests on one source. Its figures are taken from Dutch statistics of the 1920s, and the date of Malik Ibrahim's death (822 AH) is Arslan's statement. All of this needs an additional source.
Sources
- Stoddard, Hadir al-ʿalam al-islami (Arabic translation with Arslan's commentary)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Java”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/java/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-16.