Southeast Asian Islam
Integration and Indigenisation
Global Islamic Cultures Series

This book explores Muslim communities in Southeast Asia and the integration of Islamic culture with the diverse ethnic cultures of the region, offering a look at the practice of cultural and religious coexistence in various realms.

The volume traces the origins and processes of adoption, transmission, and adaptation of Islam by diverse ethnic communities such as the Malay, Acehnese, Javanese, Sundanese, the Bugis, Batak, Betawi, and Madurese communities, among others. It examines the integration of Islam within local politics, cultural networks, law, rituals, education, art, and architecture, which engendered unique regional Muslim identities.

Additionally, the book illuminates distinctive examples of cultural pluralism, cosmopolitanism, and syncretism that persisted in Islamic religious practices in the region owing to its maritime economy and reputation as a marketplace for goods, languages, cultures, and ideas.

As part of the Global Islamic Cultures series that investigates integrated and indigenized Islam, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of theology and religion, Islamic studies, religious history, political Islam, cultural studies, and Southeast Asian studies. It also offers an engaging read for general audiences interested in world religions and cultures.

List of figures vii

List of contributors viii

Introduction: Southeast Asian Islam – Integration and indigenisation 1

Nasr M. Arif and Abbas Panakkal

PART I

Theology, Jurisprudence, and Traditions 11

1 Arrival, adoption, and adaptation: integrating Islam in maritime Southeast Asia 13

Carool Kersten

2 Living sunna: scholars, community leaders, and the integration of Islam in Java 37

Ismail Fajrie Alatas

3 Islamic jurisprudence and adat in Southeast Asia 61

R. Michael Feener

4 Integration of South Asia within Southeast Asian traditions 86

Abbas Panakkal

PART II

State and Society 119

5 Integration of Islam into the Malay and Bugis-Makassar kingdoms 121

Muhamad Ali

6 Muslim women’s dress in Southeast Asia: Islamic law, fashion, and national identity 143

Euis Nurlaelawati and Nina Mariani Noor

7 Muslim cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia: marketplaces as sites of interaction and integration 167

Khairudin Aljunied

PART III

Architecture, Arts, and New Cultures 187

8 Cultural adaptation and integration: Islam in Southeast Asia 189

Anthony Reid

9 Pondok education, public discourse, and cultural pluralism in Malaysia and Indonesia 208

Azmil Tayeb

10 The Islamic art of Southeast Asia 234

Robert Hillenbrand

11 The mosques of Southeast Asia: a narrative of representation and negotiation 263

Tutin Aryanti

Index 290

Nasr M. Arif is Visiting Professor at St Andrews University, UK, and Professor of Political Science at Cairo University in Egypt. He served as Professor of Islamic Studies and founding Executive Director of the Institute for Islamic World Studies at Zayed University, UAE. His works have been published in Arabic and translated into English, Spanish, Hungarian, Kurdish, Persian, and Urdu. His research concentrates on Islamic traditions and political thought, the history of Islamic cultures, political development, and comparative political systems. He received a PhD degree in political science (1995), Cairo University, Egypt, and the University of Maryland, College Park, USA.

Abbas Panakkal is a historian currently affiliated with the School of History, University of St Andrews, UK. He serves as a member of the advisory board for the Religious Life and Belief Centre at the University of Surrey, UK. Panakkal is presently engaged in a research project that explores the diverse processes of integration and indigenization within vernacular communities. He holds the position of Director at the Ibn Battuta International Centre of Intercultural Studies and is also Director of the International Interfaith Initiative. In the past, he was a fellow at Griffith University in Australia. His research encompasses a wide range of subjects, including language, religion, law, indigenization, integration, interreligious engagements, and intercultural cooperation.