The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

REVIEW ARTICLES 261
But now within the last decade or two, two Muslim scholars have
produced a theory that Islam first came to Southeast Asia from China.
This agrees with the traditions of Patani and Java, which the Muslims of
Malaya that I talked to seem to accept. One of the two scholars was
S.A. Fatimi, who wrote a paper, "Islam comes to Malaysia" (Malaysian
Research Institute, Singapore, 1963). The second scholar was Dr. Syed
Naguib Al-Attas and his paper is called "Preliminary statement on a
general theory of the Islamization of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago"
(Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lampur, 1969). As what I know
about Islam is completely non-Muslim-centric, I will quote a few
paragraphs from Attas' paper, from the earliest Chinese record to about
1300 A.D. Dr. Attas gives two sets of dates, of the Moslem Era first,
followed by Anno Domini. To make the text quicker to absorb I will
take the liberty of adding both the eras (M.E. and A.D.)
Concise chronology of historical events
"The earliest known record of probable Muslim settlement
in the Malay-Indonesian archipelago was a Chinese report of the
existence of an Arab settlement in east Sumatra (San-Fu-Chi=Srivijaya=Palembang),
headed by an Arab chief in M.E. 55/674 A.D.
A more definite statement on large-scale Muslim emigration into
the archipelago was given by al-Mas'iidi who reported that in M.E.
265/877 A.D. about 120,000 or 200,000 merchants and traders
comprising mainly Muslims (Arabs and Persians) who had settled
in Khanfu (Canton) were massacred following a troublesome
rebellion in south China among the peasants of the T'ang emperor
Hi-Tsung (M.E. 265-276/878-889 A.D.). Consequently, large
numbers of Muslim merchants !\Od traders fled Canton and sought
refuge in Kalab (Kedah) on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
This considerable emigration of Muslim merchants and traders
effected a transference of the entrepot for Muslim trade with the
Chinese empire from Canton to Kedah. We can reasonably
assume that since the Muslims had quite a considerable settlement
in Canton (which dated from as early as the 1st/7th century)
enjoying a high degree of religious and civil autonomy, they must
have perpetuated their mode of settlement and social organization