Islam and Processes of Minorisation among Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia: Oscillating between Faith and Political Economic Expediency

Abstract

The main focus of studies on ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia is generally their business acumen or the extent to which they are assimilated into their respective country of residence. This paper concentrates on a rather different aspect among this ethnic group, namely the influence of Islam amongst the Chinese, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia. This is a topic on which very little research has been done, especially in terms of identity and ethnicity together with processes of integration and assimilation—in relation to both other ethnic Chinese and the local communities in which they are socially imbedded. Because of the deficiency of empirical data, it is imperative that we understand the historical processes that lead up to the present marginalised position of this group of Chinese. As a consequence, the present paper employs a historical approach towards the study of the Chinese Muslims in their respective local communities.