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Many Indonesian Muslims as well as non-Muslim Chinese are unaware of the link between China and Islam as well as its role in the Islamization of what is today Indonesia due to the political conditions during the colonial period and post-colonial Indonesia.
The discrimination against the Chinese in Indonesia cannot be separated from the apartheid policies of the Dutch colonial authorities who divided their colonial subjects along racial lines. There existed a racial caste system made legitimate by colonial laws and statutes placing the whites on the top, Chinese and other Asians ("Foreign Orientals) in the middle and indigenous people at the bottom.
As the Chinese were the most numerous among the "Foreign Orientals" they became an object of ire of many natives who resented their dominance in trade and commerce which was useful for the Dutch who preferred to make use of Chinese middlemen instead of dealing directly with the native populace. Worse still, the Dutch employed a good number of Chinese as administrators, such as tax collectors and the business of gambling was left to the Chinese, all of which contributed to the negative stereotype of the Chinese as an avaricious, merciless and egoistic race.
In order to normalize the relationship between the Chinese and indigenous people to the harmonious and peaceful one that existed during the pre-colonial period, it is therefore very important for the two sides to respect each other.
In relation to this aspect of harmonizing Chinese-indigenous relations as well as those between China and Indonesia who are now strategic partners - a milestone in contemporary Asian politics, the history of the contribution of the Chinese Muslims towards the Islamization of Java and elsewhere in Indonesia has to be written in school textbooks to be taught in Indonesian schools. These facts have to be made known to both people from a young age so that there will always be good relations between the Chinese and Indonesians, China and Indonesia.
It is a pity that there is hardly anything mentioned about the Chinese presence in the Malay Archipelago in the pre-colonial period, what more that concerning the dissemination of Islam. Indonesian history textbooks only mention about a so-called "Chinese invasion" of Java ordered by Kubilai Khan while actually it was a Tartar invasion not one initiated by the Han people even though there were many Han troops among the expeditionary force.
Even today in Indonesia, in spite of the discrimination faced by the Chinese many Chinese Muslims continue to contribute significantly to their faith and a good number of Chinese still convert to Islam. This shows that within a religious context, there is no barrier to integration but only due to the socio-political conditions in contemporary Indonesia is there racism against the Chinese.
Recently, books about the role played by Chinese Muslim communities in disseminating Islam in Java and elsewhere in Indonesia have been published and this is a positive development.
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King TUT JR.
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Islam is a religion of peace FREDEX KING TUT JR. | Aug 29th, 2005
Islam is a religion of peace
YES YES
DO YOU AGREED TO THAT FREDEX KING TUT JR. | Aug 29th, 2005
Islam regards all of humanity as one family as Allah SWT created mankind to get to know each other, including the Chinese and their role in spreading Islam is no less than other races.
PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR COMMENT FREDEX KING TUT JR. | Aug 29th, 2005
Islam regards all of humanity as one family as Allah SWT created mankind to get to know each other, including the Chinese and their role in spreading Islam is no less than other races.
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