The Portuguese were the first to arrive in 1512, followed by the Spaniards. It was also in the 16 th century that Europeans began visiting the Indonesian archipelago. Founded on the north-central coast of Java, this kingdom controlled much of Java’s northeastern coast, and its Islamic influence spread as far as western Java. The first major Muslim kingdom on the island was known as Demak, which emerged in the last quarter of the 15 th century, and reached the height of its power by the year 1540. It was based in eastern Java, and controlled most of the Indonesia archipelago.īy the 16 th century, Muslim kingdoms based on Java’s coasts had begun their rise on the island. By the late 13 th century, the Majapahit Empire had succeeded Singharasi. One of its kings, Kertanagara, who ruled from 1268 to 1292, not only managed to unite the entire island, but also extended his control over parts of Borneo, Bali, and other eastern islands. The first kingdom to unite the entire island of Java was the kingdom of Singhasari. Afterwards, however, Hinduism began making inroads on the island, especially during the era of the Srivijayan Empire, which was a golden age of culture and literature, when the Hindu epics were translated from Sanskrit to Javanese. It was in the 8 th and 9 th centuries in which Buddhism had a strong influence in Java. This was a Hindu kingdom, though its kings later accepted Mahayana Buddhism. The earliest kingdom to be established in Java was the Kingdom of Mataram, in the eighth century CE. Modern human occupation of Java dates back to 2500 BCE, when agriculture was first practiced on the island. In contrast, Santri Islam is a more orthodox form of Islam, focused on the Quran and the mosque. Practitioners of this particular form of Islam tend to live in rural settings.
The Abangan form of Javanese Islam blends the religion with elements of Hinduism, Buddhism, and animist traditions. The ethnic Javanese Muslims are traditionally divided into two groups: one is known as the Abangan, while the other is called Santri. Sunni Islam is both the predominant sect of Java and Indonesia as a whole.
In terms of religion, the overwhelming majority of the people of Java practice Islam, as do most of the Indonesians in general.
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