6 Some even hold that it came from Yunnan province, China.
Nurcholish Madjid, a well-known scholar on Islam in Indonesia, introduces a third view, i.e., that Islam may have spread to Indonesia from the Indian subcontinent or southern Arabia via the Chinese continent. For example, Abdurrahman Wahid, the chairman of Nahdatul Ulama, who was also the president of Indonesia from October 1999 to July 2001, once claimed that Islam was first diffused to the Indonesian archipelago by Chinese Muslims. 4 Meanwhile, some Muslims in Indonesia contend that Islam was first introduced to Indonesia from China. Other scholars hold, however, that in the 7 th and 8 th centuries, some Arabian merchants went to Northern Sumatra, doing business while spreading Islam. Many scholars support this point of view. This shows that Islam was introduced to Kerajaan Samudra Pasai from Gujarat in 1292 or 1297 at the latest. 3 Moreover, the gravestone was imported from Cambay, situated in Gujarat. 2 This reasoning is based on the fact that on the gravestone of the first king in kerajaan Samudra Pasai, who died in the year 1297, is carved “Sultan Malik As Salih” and some other words indicating his Islamic belief. 1According to Ensiklopedi Indonesia, Islam was first introduced in the 13 th century to the northern part of Sumatra via merchants from Persia and from Gujarat in Western India. Andaya, a New Zealand scholar, and Ishii Yoneo, a Japanese scholar, “it was in northern Sumatra, closest to India and the Islamic heartlands, where Islam established its first beach-heads” in Southeast Asia. Where and when did Islam first reach Southeast Asia? According to B.W. In order to better understand and explore Cheng Ho’s activities in relation to the diffusion of Islam in Southeast Asia, it is necessary to briefly introduce the background of Islam in the region. Islam in Southeast Asia before the 15 th century
In the following sections, the author will mainly focus on the discourses of foreign scholars on Cheng Ho’s role in diffusing Islam through Southeast Asia, and will also express his view on the issue. However, do these records and tales really match the historical facts? The questions above merit further discussion, because answering them can help us understand the expeditions more completely and because Cheng Ho’s role in the development of Islam in Southeast Asia constitutes an inseparable part of the cultural exchange between China and Southeast Asia. F rom 1405 to 1433, during his seven expeditions overseas, did Cheng Ho participate in spreading Islam? While there is no relevant record in historical archives in China, many records and tales in Southeast Asian countries demonstrate well that Cheng Ho did help the spread of Islam there.