Malay world

Common card · No. 314791

The Malay world or Malay realm (Indonesian/Malay: Dunia Melayu or Alam Melayu) or Malaysphere is a political concept or an expression that has been used by different authors and groups over time to denote several different notions, derived from varied interpretations of 'Malay' either as an ethnic group, as a racial category, as a linguistic group or as a cultural group. The label "Malay" as a cultural term is largely based on the prevalent Malay cultural influence, manifested in particular through the spread of the Malay language in Southeast Asia as observed by different colonial powers during the Age of Discovery and spread of Islam. The term remains highly controversial in Indonesia and outside the Malay-speaking areas, because it is considered politically charged and irredentist rather than purely cultural. The concept in its broadest territorial stretch may apply to a region synonymous with Austronesia, homeland to the Austronesian peoples, that extends from Easter Island in the...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Runebox80, CC BY-SA 4.0