Kuda Kepang, a story of the 14th century spread of Islam throughout Java by 9 Muslim 'saints' known as Walisongo, depicted in a dance performance, has been declared 'un-Islamic' by the Fatwa council of the state of Johor, the southern state of peninsula Malaysia.
But the perserverance of the Javanese predecessors who migrated to the peninsula and who brought with them traditions like Kuda Kepang is proving a challenge for the religious authorities to impose the Fatwa.
Could not though traditions exists alongside the religion of Islam when that tradition mattered so much in the spread of the religion throughout, not just Java, but most of the Malay Archipelago?
