Education in Muslim Southeast Asia - Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE
[Article]
Hefner, Robert W.
Leiden
Brill
(2,425 words)
Education in Muslim Southeast Asia has long varied in content, sponsorship, and organisation. Before the nineteenth century, the dominant variety of popular Islamic culture was based on a "mystic synthesis" (Ricklefs, Islamisation , 7-10), which combined a commitment to Islamic identity and observance of Islam's five pillars with the veneration of regional guardian spirits of the earth, water, and air. Instead of networks of madrasa -based scholars, local rulers played the pivotal role in the custodianship and transmission of religious culture. They sponsored public rituals, artistic performances, and study