Trading Contacts and Conversion
		• Peaceful contacts and voluntary conversion were more important to the spread of Islam than conquest and force. • Trading contacts prepared the way for conversion, with the process carried forward by Sufis. • The first conversions occurred in small northern Sumatran ports. • On the mainland the key to the spread of Islam was the city of Malacca, the smaller successor to Shrivijaya. • From Malacca Islam went to Malaya, Sumatra, and the state of Demak on Java's north coast.