Malaysian who has gone through the secondary stage of schooling (did not miss history classes), already knows that islam was not the original religion of the malay peninsula. We do not carry the beliefs that our country was originally/heavily influenced by islam. Islam only came to Malaya around 1400 or so, when the last prince of the sri wijaya empire converted to islam. Contrary to what other nation believes, malaysian particularly the malays ( which are muslim) are the most excited people of this discovery, and of course the historian/researchers that has been searching/studying more than 10 years for all things that lead to these hinduism/buddhism ancients places were mostly malays (which again are muslim). The malaysian goverment was as eager as the researchers and the rest of malaysian people in anticipating the rewritten of the history of the ancient malay history/ies. Isn't this kewllll or what.....
Oh......and former non-islamic history never have and never will weakens our "supposed" claims..........we are more open-minded than that :).
To learn more of this discovery go to thestar.com.my or related links or search for "the lost city of kota gelanggi" in google :).
Thanks for reading.
Links on Lost City,
http://news.google.com.my/news?q=the+lost+city+of+kota+gelanggi&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=nn&oi=newsr
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/2/6/nation/10105045&sec=nation
http://www.snni.org/cgi-bin/snni2/list_item.cgi?peserta/malaysia/st0205_1.txt
Thanks for the info.
I realize that not all (or even most!) Muslims think that Islam "always was" - but, especially in the ME / Africa, this is a prevailing theme - most lnotably in the press.
I congratulate you and your people on this discovery and hope that the knowledge obtained from the expedition will shed new light on an ancient culture.
next genaration of students will only know that There was malaysia.......bcos of our that what there is the books, when the fiding is done and with Internet..the whole will know the ancient history of the EAST ASIA ( HINDU/BUDDIST),
As usual...they won't admit.