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Old 12th January 2012, 08:59 PM   #43
A. G. Maisey
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Yes David, the question of "honour" is something else entirely.

A review of the "honour" of all leaders and politicians at all times and in all places will demonstrate that no matter where one should choose to look, "honour" (adherence to what is right as a conventional standard of conduct ---Oxford) is pretty thin on the ground.

In respect of Jawa in particular, Senopati was probably no worse than his predecessors, nor those who came after him.

The mighty Majapahit was the product of deceit and double-cross.
Islam destroyed Majapahit from within , son against father, and so it continues.

It is interesting to note that the recent succession of PBXIII of Surakarta was the product of one brother's supporters seizing control of the Karaton upon the passing of PBXII, and thus depriving the named heir of the throne.

"Honour"?

What is the meaning of the word?

Oxford can give us a definition, but in practice I feel that honour is seldom found.


In respect of the Islamisation of Jawa, close study of this will show that the penetration of Islam into Jawa flowed into society from two directions:- from the top down, and from the bottom up.

The princes of Majapahit were in control of trade in the ports along the north coast. As Muslim traders came to Jawa and established enclaves these Muslim traders formed a trade network, and the indigenous Javanese traders became more and more excluded. In order to ensure the continuing success of trade, these Majapahit princes converted one by one to Islam. This conversion culminated with the conversion to Islam of Brawijaya V of Majapahit, at the point of Raden Patah's sword, who was his own son, and had established Demak.

At this point in history, the Muslim influence was probably more weighted towards Gujerat, but Raden Patah himself seems to have had a Chinese mother, and it is probable that the very earliest contact of Jawa with Islam, did indeed come from Chinese traders.

At the other end of the social scale the dispossessed of Majapahit, and the landless rural workers were influenced to convert by gifts of land and support from Muslim traders who had established enclaves along the north coast. The traders would come with one trade wind, and would then wait a number of months for the wind to turn, so they could sail home again. Over time these Muslim traders established settlements, and through their wealth gained control over land. To populate this land they drew upon the dispossessed and the poor, who were given land to work in exchange for converting to Islam.

The conversion of Jawa to Islam cannot be separated from the expansion of trade.
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