History
Buddhism was introduced to the Malays and also to the people of the Malay Archipelago as early as 200 BCE. Chinese written sources indicated that some 30 small Indianised states rose and fell in the Malay Peninsula. Malay-Buddhism began when Indian traders and priests traveling the maritime routes and brought with them Indian concepts of religion, government, and the arts. For many centuries the peoples of the region, especially the royal courts, synthesised Indian and indigenous ideas including Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism and that shaped their political and cultural patterns. However, the Malay Kedah Kingdom denounced Indian religion after the king of Chola from Tamil attack them in the early 11th century, the king of Kedah, Phra Ong Mahawangsa was the first Malay ruler to denounce the traditional Indian religion, he converted to Islam, and in the 15th century, during the golden age of Malacca Sultanate, majority of the Malays converted to Islam.
Read more about this topic: Buddhism In Malaysia
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