Towards a Re-interpretation of Early Islamisation Processes in Southeast Asia

Abstract

This essay problematises gradualist conceptualisations of early Southeast Asian Islamisation processes, arguing that although such models offer plausible interpretations of Islamisation processes on a regional scale, they become problematic when applied to local cases of Islamisation. These problems arise primarily because local historical evidence 'resists' gradualism as the tempo of Southeast Asian Islamisation processes, as shown by the cases of Pasai and Gresik. This article proposes an alternative conceptualisation of local Southeast Asian Islamisation as a process occurring over long stretches of time punctuated by short periods of rapid change. Not only is this alternative conceptualisation of Islamisation's tempo more consistent with the evidence from Pasai and Gresik, it also provides an alternative framework for re-evaluating existing theories of the origins and nature of early Islamisation in Southeast Asia.