Monsoon winds and merchants (from the 7th century)

Part oneThe rhythm of the winds

Over the Indian Ocean the winds change direction with the seasons. For part of the year the monsoon blows from the south-west, pushing ships from Arabia and East Africa towards India and beyond. Then it turns and blows from the north-east, carrying them home. Sailors had known this for centuries. Their whole calendar of trade followed it.

The sea road was long. It ran from the Red Sea and the Gulf along the coasts of India, across the Bay of Bengal, through the narrow Strait of Melaka between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, and on to the ports of southern China. A ship could not sail the whole way in one season. A round trip from the Red Sea to China could take more than two years. Merchants had to stop and wait for the wind in the ports along the way, sometimes for months.

Part twoMuslim merchants in every port

After the rise of Islam, Arab and Persian merchants came to dominate this trade, and later Muslim merchants from Gujarat and the Malabar coast of India joined them. They carried incense, horses, cloth and glass east, and brought back spices, silk, porcelain and fragrant woods. Cloves and nutmeg from the Maluku islands of eastern Indonesia sold in distant markets for great prices.

While they waited for the winds, the merchants lived in the port towns. They built small mosques, kept their prayers and fasts, ate halal food and married local women. Their children grew up Muslim and spoke the local languages. Over generations, small Muslim quarters grew up from the Indian coast to the Malay world and southern China. In Guangzhou a large settled community of Muslims, married into Chinese families, became the ancestors of the Hui, the Chinese Muslims.

Part threeA faith carried by trade

No Muslim army ever conquered the islands of South-East Asia. Yet Indonesia today has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, and with Malaysia and Brunei the region is home to more than 250 million Muslims. How did this happen?

Historians argue over where the first carriers of Islam came from. Some point to the merchants of Gujarat and southern India, others to Arabs coming directly from Arabia, others to Persians, and some to Egypt. Each view has evidence, and the truth may include all of them. The channels are clearer. Islam came first through trade. Merchants were respected for their honesty and their wealth, and local rulers wanted to join the wide Muslim trading world. It came through teachers, who set up schools and taught in the ports. And it came through marriage, as foreign Muslims married into local families, including ruling families.

The faith spread first among the people of the ports, then up the rivers into the interior. Muslims who arrived did not force their customs on the people. They took on local dress, food and language while teaching tawhid and the law. That is one reason Islam in this region has its own character, gentle and rooted in local culture.

From the Quran

وَمِنْ ءَايَـٰتِهِ ٱلْجَوَارِ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ كَٱلْأَعْلَـٰمِ ۝٣٢ إِن يَشَأْ يُسْكِنِ ٱلرِّيحَ فَيَظْلَلْنَ رَوَاكِدَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهِۦٓ ۚ إِنَّ فِى ذَٰلِكَ لَـَٔايَـٰتٍ لِّكُلِّ صَبَّارٍ شَكُورٍ ۝٣٣

³²And among His signs are the ships like mountains ˹sailing˺ in the sea. ³³If He wills, He can calm the wind, leaving the ships motionless on the water. Surely in this are signs for whoever is steadfast, grateful.

No army conquered the islands, yet they became home to more Muslims than any other region of the world.

WatchThe lecture for this chapter

Lecture Al MuqaddimahHow Indonesia and Malaysia Became Muslim (opens on YouTube)

The mapWhere it happened

• Aden
• Siraf
• Gujarat
• Calicut
• Sri Lanka
• the Strait of Melaka
• Guangzhou
• Quanzhou
• the Maluku islands

This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.

SourcesSources for this chapter