several unifying principles. The state philosophy
of Pancasila (Sanskrit: five principles) promotes
the idea of finding unity in the belief in one God,
the first of the five principles. The other four prin-
ciples are belief in a just and civilized humanity,
national unity, democracy, and social justice. The
government recognizes six major religious com-
munities—Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Confucian,
Roman Catholic, and Protestant—while privileg-
ing Islam somewhat as the majority religion.
The present religious diversity of the islands
began with the traditional folk religion of the
original inhabitants. Hinduism came to Sumatra
and Java as early as the second century c.e., and
it grew in importance for the next millennium.
Hinduism’s hegemony was briefly challenged by
Buddhism, which found its major support in Java
in the ninth century. The ninth-century Mahayana
stupa at Barobudur is a reminder of this phase
of the country’s history. It was renovated by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cul-
tural Organization (UNESCO) in 1973 and is now
an international tourist site as well as a place of
worship and pilgrimage. A Hindu kingdom, the
Majapahit, founded in the 13th century, grew to
include much of what is modern Indonesia. After
the spread of Islam in the 16th century, Buddhism
disappeared, and Hinduism was pushed back to
a few enclaves, of which the island of Bali is the
most notable. Buddhism was reintroduced in the
20th century. Christianity came to Indonesia as
early as the seventh century but made real prog-
ress only with the arrival of European colonial
powers in the 15th century. Three centuries of
Dutch control allowed the Reformed Church to
establish centers throughout the islands.
Islam was originally brought to the Indonesian
islands during the first millennium c.e., but only
in the 13th century did settled Muslim communi-
ties appear as a result of maritime trade networks
that linked Southeast Asia with the Indian Ocean
basin and the Middle East. The first Muslims may
have come from Gujarat and Malabar on the west
coast of india, followed by Arabs from Hadramaut
on the Arabian Peninsula. In 1297, Sultan Malik
al-Salih (d. 1297) became the first Muslim ruler in
what is now Indonesia. His kingdom was in Aceh,
which occupies the northern tip of Sumatra. Islam
spread during the heyday of the Majapahit king-
dom in eastern Java and made gains as local rulers
adopted the new faith. During the 15th century,
the sultanate of Malacca (what is now Malaysia)
supported the spread of Islam through Sumatra
and Java. At the same time, the Majapahit king-
dom was suffering from severe inner fragmenta-
tion. The Islamic kingdom of Demak founded on
Java in 1478 would, with a victory in 1527, claim
to have finally succeeded Majapahit rule. From
this point on, Islam would steadily come to domi-
nate the islands, but often infused with native,
Hindu, and Buddhist elements.
The fragmentation of Hindu rule in the 15th
century and the rise of Islam coincided with the
coming of the Portuguese (1512) and then the
Dutch (1602). The Dutch East India Company
dominated the islands for two centuries but fell
into bankruptcy. In 1800, it yielded control to
the government of the Netherlands. There were
several revolts against Dutch rule, which was
ended in World War II when the Japanese occu-
pied the islands and nationalist forces prevailed at
the end of the war in 1945. Since that time, rule
by the central government has been challenged
by Islamic groups in Aceh and the Darul Islam
(House of Islam) movement.
The early Muslims followed the shaFii legal
school, and to the present almost all Indonesian
Muslims are Shafiis. Islam is especially strong
in Aceh and Java due to the high esteem com-
munities give to the Ulama and religious board-
ing schools, the pesantren (Javanese: place of
students). Traditional learning focuses on Arabic
language, quranic studies, Islamic jurisprudence
(fiqh), and sUFism, but modern secular edUcation
and vocational training are also available. Sufism
formed a significant stream of Muslim practice
and was especially significant in Java. According
to traditional accounts, Sunan Ampel, a MuslimIndonesia 359 J