South Buton and the "Womb" of Eastern Indonesian Islam (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781593309725)

The journey of Islam from its place of origin in the Middle East to the remote islands of Eastern Indonesia is an interesting, complicated one. There are many factors involved, but the two primary ones are commerce and Sufism. The spice trade is fairly easy to understand, but Sufism is much more complex. This book draws on several, recently-completed, scholarly works on the teachings of Sufism and their spread throughout the world. It attempts to show how Buton has uniquely preserved elements of this mysticism in its "womb."