Editing Jawi script (section)

==The spread and extent of Jawi script==
The script became prominent with the spread of Islam, supplanting the earlier writing systems. The Malays held the script in high esteem, believing it was a gateway to understanding Islam and its Holy Book, the Quran. The use of Jawi script was a key factor driving the emergence of Malay as the lingua franca of the region.<ref name="autogenerated2007">{{cite web |url=http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2007/09/16/an_overview_of_jawis_origins_in_brunei |title=An overview of Jawi's origin in Brunei |publisher=Brunei Times |date=16 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524112825/http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2007/09/16/an_overview_of_jawis_origins_in_brunei |archive-date=24 May 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> 

[[File:Undang-Undang Melaka.jpg|thumb|center|200px|A copy of ''[[Undang-Undang Melaka]]'' ('Laws of Malacca'). The Malacca system of justice as enshrined in the text was the legal source for other major regional sultanates like [[Johor Sultanate|Johor]], [[Perak]], [[Brunei]], [[Pattani Kingdom|Pattani]] and [[Aceh Sultanate|Aceh]].<ref>{{citation | last = Fauzia | first = Amelia | title = Faith and the State: A History of Islamic Philanthropy in Indonesia | publisher = BRILL | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-90-04-23397-3 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation | last = Abd. Jalil Borham | title = Pengantar Perundangan Islam (An Introduction to Islamic Legislature)| publisher = [[Universiti Teknologi Malaysia]] press | year = 2002 | location=Johor Bahru | isbn = 983-52-0276-1 |page=94}}</ref>]]

Jawi was widely used in the [[Sultanate of Malacca]], [[Sultanate of Johor]], [[Sultanate of Maguindanao]], [[Sultanate of Brunei]], [[Sultanate of Sulu]], [[Sultanate of Pattani]], the [[Sultanate of Aceh]] to the [[Sultanate of Ternate]] in the east as early as the 15th century. It was used in royal correspondences, decrees, poems and was widely understood by the merchants in the port of Malacca as the main means of communication. Early legal digests such as the ''[[Undang-Undang Melaka]]'' Code and its derivatives including the Codes of Johor, Perak, Brunei, Kedah, Pattani and Aceh were written in this script. {{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Jawi is a traditional symbol of Malay culture and civilisation, used not only amongst the ruling class, but also the common people. The Islamisation and [[Malayisation]] of the region popularised Jawi into a dominant script.<ref name="autogenerated3">''The Legacy of the Malay Letter'', Annabel Teh Gallop, The British Library and Arkib Negara Malaysia, {{ISBN|978-0-7123-0376-7}}.</ref>

Examples of royal correspondences in Jawi are the letter between Sultan [[Sultanate of Ternate#Lineage|Hayat]] of Ternate and King [[John III of Portugal]] (1521), the letter from Sultan [[Iskandar Muda]] of Acèh Darussalam to King [[James VI and I|James I]] of England (1615), and the letter from Sultan [[Sultan of Johor|Abdul Jalil]] IV of Johor to King [[Louis XV of France]] (1719).<ref name="autogenerated3" /> Many literary works such as epics, poetry and prose use the Jawi script. Historical epics such as the ''[[Malay Annals]]'', as listed by [[UNESCO]] under Memories of the World, are among the countless epics written by the Malay people. The [[Sufi]]c poems by [[Hamzah Fansuri]] and many others contributed to the richness and depth of the Malay civilisation.{{Peacock inline|date=December 2024}}

Jawi script was the official script for the [[Unfederated Malay States]] when they were British protectorates.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} The growth of the printing industry in early 20th century Malaysia saw the development of a wide range of Jawi literature. The primary topics of Jawi books were religious and political. From the 1940s to the 1960s, [[erotica]] ({{lang|ms|picisan}}) began to be printed in Jawi, although many authors later switched to Rumi.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://glamlelaki.my/glam-lelaki-gaya-hidup/13887/ |title=Erotika Melayu |author=Nazir Harith Fadzilah |publisher=Glamlelaki |date=2017 |access-date=26 December 2024 |language=ms}}</ref> A 1954 meeting of the {{ill|Kongres Bahasa|ms|Kongres Bahasa dan Persuratan Melayu}} saw Rumi officially adopted as a Malay script alongside Jawi in the [[Federation of Malaya]], and government policy over the next few decades favoured Rumi in education, resulting in Jawi literacy becoming less common. Jawi was removed from the national curriculum in the mid-1980s.<ref name="Mulaika2021">{{cite web |url=https://www.newmandala.org/jawi-identity-and-controversy/ |title=Jawi: identity and controversy |author=Mulaika Hijjas |publisher=New Mandala |date=20 July 2021 |access-date=26 December 2024}}</ref> 

As the public educational system stopped producing Jawi texts, Jawi literature printed by private companies became dominant. Most privately produced Jawi textbooks were targeted at Islamic schools, and their contents were more conservative than in the former public school textbooks. This shift in usage led to Jawi becoming closely associated with Islam and Malay identity, with Rumi replacing its use for non-religious purposes. Over time, the use of Jawi in Malaysia became a sensitive issue. Some view attempts to promote Jawi as Islamisation or [[Ketuanan Melayu|Malay chauvinism]]. Conversely, some view Jawi as a religious script that should not be used by non-Muslims.<ref name="Mulaika2021"/>