Note 44 — Chapter XII · THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.

We possess no other details of the history of the conversion of the Malays of the Peninsula, but in many places the graves of the Arab missionaries who first preached the faith to them are honoured by these people.44 Their long intercourse with the Arabs and the Muslims of the east coast of India has made them very rigid observers of their religious duties, and they have the reputation of being the most exemplary Muhammadans of the Archipelago; at the same time their constant contact with the Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and pagans of their own country has made them liberal and tolerant. They are very strict in the keeping of the fast of Ramaḍān and in performing the pilgrimage to Mecca. The religious interests of the people are always considered at the same time as their temporal welfare; and when a village is found to contain more than forty houses and is considered to be of a size that necessitates its organisation and the appointment of the regular village officers, a public preacher is always included among the number and a mosque is formally built and instituted.45