Arab-Indonesian
Hadhrami immigrants in Dutch East Indies
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 5,000,000 Native Indonesians with Arab ancestry (387,254 ) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Aceh, West Sumatra, Jakarta, West Java, South Kalimantan | |
| Languages | |
| Indonesian, Arabic, Indonesian regional languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Hadhramis, Arab Singaporeans, Arab Malaysians, Arab diaspora |
Arab Indonesians (Arabic: عرب إندونيسي), or Hadharem (Arabic: حضارم; sing., Hadhrami, Arabic: حضرمي), informally known as Jama'ah, are citizens of Indonesia of Arab, mainly Hadhrami, descent. The group also includes those of Arab descent from other Middle Eastern Arabic speaking nations. Restricted under Dutch East Indies' law until 1919, the community elites later gained economic power through real estate investment and trading. Currently found mainly in Java, especially West Java, they are almost all Muslims.
Indonesia has had contact with the Arab world for hundreds of years, prior to the emergence of Islam in Indonesia as well as since pre-Islamic times. The earliest Arabians to arrive into South East Asia were traders came from Southern Arabia and other Arab states of the Persian Gulf. Most of the earliest Arabians were Christian Arabs, Sabeans and other Pagan religions before the coming of Islam. Nevertheless, strong facts show that the Arab presence mostly begun only in early Islamic era. These traders helped to connect the spice and silk markets of South East Asia and far east Asia with the Arabian kingdoms, Persian Empire and the Roman Empire. Most contact was with spice traders, but the first Arab settlements in the archipelago may date from the fifth century. Some later founded dynasties, including the Sultanate of Pontianak, while others intermingled with existing kingdoms. These early communities adopted much of the local culture, and some disappeared entirely while others formed ethnically distinct communities.
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