Religious periodicals published in the Straits settlements and Malaya: 1821-1940
In the early 17th century, the Dutch introduced the printing press into the Dutch East Indies. Two centuries later, Christian missionaries launched a large-scale campaign of publishing texts in Malay. Printing presses for missionary purposes were set up on the Malay peninsula and in Singapore, which became a major centre for publications of Christian books, tracts and periodicals in Malay and other vernacular languages. These writings had a significant impact on Malay culture. As a reaction against the activities of Christian missionaries, Muslim intellectuals with close connections to the Middle East launched the publication of the Islamic magazine “Al-Imam” in Singapore in the early 20th century. It was followed by several other Malay-language Islamic periodicals in the region and in other parts of the Islamic world.
