Islam in Central Sulawesi, a province of Indonesia, is the majority religion embraced by around 75%Persentase Pemeluk Agama menurut Kabupaten/Kota, 2007-2011 , Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah. Retrieved 15 November 2013. of the province's 2,683,722 inhabitants (2011 projection figure, based on the 2010 census).Jumlah dan Laju Pertumbuhan Penduduk, 1971,1980, 1990, 2000, 2005, 2010, dan 2011 , Badan Pusat Statistik Provinsi Sulawesi Tengah. Retrieved 15 November 2013. The propagators of Islam were thought to enter Central Sulawesi through neighboring regions, namely Bone, Wajo, and Mandar from the south and west routes, and through Gorontalo and Ternate from the north and east routes via Tomini Bay and Tolo Bay.
History The Islamic teachings were thought to have first spread to the region of Central Sulawesi in Buol dan Banggai, where both regions accepted Islam in the mid-16th century due to influences from Ternate. A king of Buol was noted to have an Islamic name, namely Eato Muhammad Tahir who ruled between 1540-1595.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Islam began to spread in the land of the Kailis propagated by Dato Karama (his real name Abdullah Raqie), who was believed to have come from Minangkabau. Dato Karama preached in the Palu area and its surroundings, and because of him the Kaili king named Pue Njidi converted to Islam. In the Parigi and surrounding areas, another Minangkabau preacher named Dato Mangaji (also called by the local title Tori Agama) was able to invite the Parigi king named Tori Kota and his son Magau Janggo to convert to Islam.
Demographics Geographic distribution The following is the distribution of Muslims per city/regency in province of Central Sulawesi in 2010. +City/RegencyMuslim pop.%Banggai246,49276.17%Banggai Islands120,00669.92%Banggai LautMorowali149,95572.68%North MorowaliPoso77,15836.88%Donggala246,96088.96%Tolitoli195,23992.40%Buol124,68694.02%Parigi Moutong333,53380.64%Tojo Una-Una125,19490.85%Sigi140,61065.39%Palu City288,12685.62%Totals2,047,95977.72%
Education There is an Islamic institute of higher education established in Central Sulawesi, the STAIN Datokarama Palu.
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