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Malacca and Islam

© Maria Christensen

The busiest port in 15th century Asia traced its roots to an exiled prince and a legend of a mouse deer and went on to grow from legend to an internationally known center of trade, with hundreds of ships plying its strategic waters every year. Muslim traders and missionaries turned the small fishing village of Malacca, Malaysia into a thriving city which would later be coveted by Western powers.

At the close of the 14th century a Hindu prince named Parameswara established himself as king in Temasik, now known as Singapore, however, attacks and raids on his tiny kingdom by the Siamese forced him to look for greener pastures. Traveling northward along the western coast of Malaysia, he and his band of followers came to a river called Bertam. There they stopped to hunt and as Parameswara rested beneath the branches of a tree, he happened to witness the somewhat foolish bravery of a white mouse deer as it kicked one of his hunting dogs. Impressed with the deer's action, and taking it as a good omen, he decided that this was the perfect spot for a new city. He found the name for his city in the tree under which he had sheltered. It was a Malaka tree.

In the succeeding years the city grew and Parameswara married a princess from Indonesia. He converted to the rapidly spreading religion of Islam and took the name Iskandar Shah. He then created an efficient system of administration and court procedures which would be used by many generations of royalty. The strategic importance of Malacca, located as it was along the major seaway between China and India, soon became apparent to the Muslim traders who dominated the trade between China, India and Africa. Malacca not only attracted trade, it also became a center for Muslim missionaries as Islam spread throughout Malaysia, western Indonesia and the southern Philippines.

Muslim scholars known as ulama' spread out from Malacca into the surrounding countryside, bring teaching, knowledge and practical help to the people of Malaysia. Even when a ruler such as Parameswara converted to Islam, it took the work of the ulama' to bring the faith to the people. From the basis of their own broad educations, they gave lectures, carried on religious training and worked side by side with the villagers in their various pursuits. Their students often came from even remoter regions and when their training was complete would return to their own villages to teach, or moved on to other areas. Thus an educational network was established which brought Islam to even remote areas of Southeast Asia.

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