Which of these is most likely true regarding the spread of Islam in South Asia?

[phk]

Choose whatever you like.

[phk]

All except 1.

#2 would be an inaccurate depiction.  Islam really entered Southeast Asia through traders and merchants, not warlords.

Some Sultanates may have gone to war with non-Islamic kingdoms, but I'm not really familiar with any mass-conversations by the sword.

#7 is the most true imo.  "As a socio-cultural process of diffusion and integration over an extended period of time into the sphere of the dominant Muslim civilization and global polity at large. Like a more peacful version of #1."

Anyone mentioning "spheres" and "polities" knows something about pre-modern Southeast Asia.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandala_(Southeast_Asian_history)

This is about South Asia (modern-day Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) not Southeast Asia.

[phk]

In Malaysia and Indonesia, it was due to the Koran being a rather useful uniform commercial code, that gave trade advantages to the Sultans, and because the Portuguese were such vicious predatory religious fanatics, while the Muslims just wanted to make money. How times have changed. In India, as I understand it, many of the Muslims were former Hindu untouchables, that decided to opt out of a religion were they were treated like sh**t. Read my friend Bill Bernstein's book on the history of trade, and you can find out all about this stuff. I read the whole book in one sitting. I could not put it down.

You know Bernstein?