| The Influence of Islám Islám was introduced by Muslim traders in the course of peaceful commerce and by preachers who set out from India, Persia, and Arabia and formed schools of learning by the fifteenth century. The new religion emphasized the unity of God, brotherhood of man, and principles of no religious compulsion. The inhabitants of Indonesia, Malaysia, and southern Philippines easily assimilated its practices into their local norms and values, and gradually accepted the religion. Today, Brunei and Malaysia are overwhelmingly Islámic, and Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the whole world. |
