SEA - Human Geography Lesson

Human Geography

Religious Diversity

The many islands of Indonesia vary as widely as any Southeast Asian nation and are home to many diverse ethnic and religious groups. There may be as many as three hundred different and distinct ethnic groups in Indonesia. Many of these ethnic groups are further divided by islands and or distance. More than two hundred fifty separate languages and hundreds of additional dialects are spoken. As a result of Southeast Asia's ethnic, religious, and linguistic diversity; all the main world religions have adherents living in the region. Buddhism is the dominant religion of the mainland sections while Malaysia and Singapore have sizeable minority groups of Hindus. The only two Christian countries in Asia are East Timor and the Philippines. Although it may sound surprising given its location, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.

How Did Islam Spread?

How did Islam travel to Indonesia? Islam was diffused to Indonesia over centuries. It is generally believed that the first phase was the result of trade between West Asia and East Asia. Merchants from Yemen and the Persian Gulf followed the monsoon winds to the islands of Java and Sumatra. The immigrant Muslims did not force their own customs and culture on the local populations. Instead, they adopted the local culture while introducing the requirements of the Shariah. Impressed by the honesty and integrity of these merchants, many Malays (Malaysian people) accepted Islam.

The spread of Islam in the Indonesian archipelago followed a geographical progression from west to east over a period of four hundred years (1100 to 1500). Starting with Sumatra, it traveled south and east to Java and later Malaya, Borneo, Sulu, Sulawesi and Luzon (Manila).

Despite the Islamic faith's dominance, other religions have maintained footholds. The Indonesian constitution allows for religious freedom and the country officially recognizes other faiths such as Christianity (both Protestantism and Roman Catholicism), Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Geography too has aided diversity by providing natural divisions or natural borders (water separating the islands). These natural divisions have made it easier for the cultural groups to both gather and separate from other groups.

With diversity, conflict and tensions are more likely. One minority group that experiences social tensions is the Chinese group of Indonesia. Although they only make up about one percent of the population, they have substantial influence over the privately-owned business sector of the economy. This has resulted in considerable resentment by other ethnic groups of Indonesia, often with violent results. Some of the islands—or portions of them—have attempted to break away in a devolutionary manner and become independent countries. Just as East Timor became independent, the western province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra had a similar movement toward independence. West Papua on the island of New Guinea has also had an independence movement. The Aceh situation was negotiated out while the West Papua movement has been suppressed by military and political forces.

Since many of the islands possess copious amounts of natural resources, the country of Indonesia does not want to lose them and has the future potential of using them to increase the nation's wealth. This makes it necessary for the nation to work to provide ways to unify the diverse population. As one might imagine, it is not easy to create national unity with such a diverse population scattered throughout such a large archipelago. As a force that holds the country together, Indonesia has established a substantial degree of nationalism which has resulted in a high degree of stability despite the surface tensions or ethnic and religious conflicts. Since language is another way to unify people, the Indonesian language is taught in school. This has helped it become the most prevalent language group in the country, as well as the lingua franca and official language of Indonesia.

Economic Diversity 

Beyond cultural diversity, the geography of Southeast Asia has led to various levels of economic activity. Singapore's location helped it grow from a swampy land with few natural resources to become an economic tiger. Unlike Singapore, Brunei's development was aided by its oil-rich natural resources which helped it become an emirate. Thailand has developed into a major manufacturing center while the Philippines became a destination for outsourced information jobs. Landlocked Laos and isolated Burma (Myanmar) are geographically disadvantaged and, as a result, have weak economies. Vietnam and Cambodia, although not as geographically remote, have not developed as quickly economically. This is due to their political isolation.

 

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