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Islam in Indonesia

overview about Islam in Indonesia

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ141770
Source-derived summary

Islam is the largest religion in Indonesia, with 87.15% of the Indonesian population identifying themselves as Muslims, based on civil registry data in 2025. In terms of population, the country has the world’s largest Muslim population, with an overwhelming 251.25 million people consisting of Sunni and non-denominational Muslims. the Pew Research Center estimates them as comprising ~99% of the country's Muslim population in 2011, with the remaining 1% being Shia, who are concentrated around Jakarta, and about 400,000 Ahmadi as well.

In terms of schools of jurisprudence, based on demographic statistics, 99% of Indonesian Muslims mainly follow the Shafi'i madhhab, smaller numbers follow other schools, and the Salafi movement, although when asked, 56% do not adhere to any specific school. The Sunni orders of Sufism are considered essential. Trends of thought within Islam in Indonesia can be broadly categorized into two orientations: "modernism", which closely adheres to orthodox theology while embracing modern learning, and "traditionalism", which tends to follow the interpretations of local religious leaders and religious teachers at Islamic boarding schools (pesantren). There is also a historically important presence of a syncretic form of Islam known as kebatinan, particularly in Java.

Islam in Indonesia is considered to have gradually spread through merchant activities by Arab Muslim traders, adoption by local rulers, and the influence of Sufism since the 12th or the 13th century. During the late colonial era, it was adopted as a rallying banner against colonialism. A 2023 Pew Research Center report gave 93% of the adult Indonesian population identifying themselves as Muslim.

Editorial summary

“Islam in Indonesia” enters the record as overview about Islam in Indonesia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Islam, Indonesia and overview can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2025, 2011, 2023—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Islam, Indonesia and overview.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Islam in Indonesia” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Islam, Indonesia and overview provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q141770. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2025, 2011 and 2023.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  2. Expand the search: follow Islam in Indonesia primary sources, Islam in Indonesia archive and Islam research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Islam in Indonesia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.