By the early nineteenth century, Islam had come to be the religious element in Javanese identity, but it was a particular kind of Islam described by the author as a mystic synthesis. The Javanese held firmly to their identity as Muslims and fulfilled the basic ritual obligations of the faith, but they also accepted the reality of local spiritual forces. Polarizing Javanese Society discusses how colonial rule, population pressure, and Islamic reform undermined this distinctively Javanese syncretism. Based on a wide range of original sources in Javanese and Dutch, this book is the first thoroughly researched publication on Islam in Java.