South East Asia is a sub region of Asia, consisting of the countries that lie between the Indian subcontinent and southern China. It is bordered by the China Sea and the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean from the east, and bounded from the west by the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. The region comprises Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China, Eastern Turkistan, and Brunei. South East Asia has been significantly affected by the Indian and Chinese cultures.

The region bears Indian and Chinese flavors due to the large number of migrations from these two countries.
In fact, the story of Islam in southeast Asia is one of the greatest stories about the spread of Islam in the whole world. The Muslims did not march to these vast areas of great population with their armies to conquer them nor did they fight the peoples of these areas.

Instead, Muslims merchants introduced Islam to southeast Asia, displaying the refined ethics of Islam and calling the people to embrace Islam. They promulgated Islam via persuasion, kindness, and good treatment. This celebrated the fundamental fact that Islam invades hearts not lands or countries.

Muslim traders carried their goods and departed from the Islamic Mashriq to these remote areas by sea. Arabs from southern Arabia, from Yemen and Oman, played the greatest role in spreading Islam in these areas. They engaged in trade with the peoples of these remote countries. These people witnessed the refined morals of Muslim merchants; their honesty, virtue and truthfulness. They came to know that these noble morals and commendable manners were promoted by their religion. This endeared Islam to their hearts. It was not long until they embraced Islam and became loyal and sincere Muslims.

In the following lines, we will relate the story of the introduction of Islam to these countries. We will address the most important historical events that took place in these countries and their current status quo. Indeed, the people of southeast Asia, even if they were far away from us, are, yet, close to us through the bonds of religion and brotherhood. In this sense, they are closer to us than we think.

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