Note 153 — Chapter XII · THE SPREAD OF ISLAM IN THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO.

Beside the traders, there have been numbers of what may be called professional missionaries—theologians, preachers, jurisconsults and pilgrims. The latter have, in recent years, been especially active in the work of proselytising, in stirring up a more vigorous and consistent religious life among their fellow-countrymen, and in purging away the lingering remains of heathen habits and beliefs. The number of those who make the pilgrimage to Mecca from all parts of the Archipelago is constantly on the increase, and there is in consequence a proportionate growth of Muhammadan influence and Muhammadan thought. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century the Dutch Government tried to put obstacles in the way of the pilgrims and passed an order that no one should be allowed to make the pilgrimage to the holy city without a passport, for which he had to pay 110 florins; and any one who evaded this order was on his return compelled to pay a fine of double that amount.153 Accordingly it is not surprising to find that in 1852 the number of pilgrims was so low as seventy, but in the same year this order was rescinded, and since then, there has been a steady increase.