Globalization and Islamic Indigenization in Southeast Asian Muslim Communities

For centuries, what is now commonly referred to in the Cold War-inflected English parlance as “Southeast Asia” has been connected various regions of world -- from transmission Islam diverse places Middle East, South Asia, and China, engagements with European colonialism and, more recently, post-independence foreign relations regional, multilateral, global contexts. From eighth century Muslim traders were traversing ports called Southeast by turn fourteenth there evidence for indigenous communities.[1] Such economic, cultural, religious exchange over centuries not, despite warnings some globalization theorists, led a homogenization much less Islamic ideas practices. Rather than coming single homogenous authoritative source, spread – leaders across mainland island Asia came many directions influences Mecca Medina Swahili Coast, Yemen, India, Persian Gulf, Patani networks, far China. Whereas East (often Asians, or Jawi, pilgrims, scholars, travelers who return home) have contentious debates power struggles particular moments places, such struggle between “old” “young” movements among Minangkabau West Sumatra, recently especially experienced other forms cultural influence Asian countries like Japan Korea well Western United States former colonial powers.[2] As nation-state, Indonesia also begun come terms Chinese Muslims part long histories archipelago. Along way, Asia’s ethnic communities retained sense national, identities that are influenced, yet never entirely determined, outside forces.
 
 [1] Feener 2019, “Islam c. 1800,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.40
 [2] Malaysia, see Michael G. Peletz, Sharia Transformations: Cultural Politics Rebranding an Judiciary (Berkeley: University California Press, 2020). K-Pop, Ariel Heryanto, Identity Pleasure: The Indonesian Screen Culture (Singapore: NUS 2014).