ABSTRACT
Although it is argued that a political entity had developed prior to the coming of Islam to present day Brunei, it is clear that Islam became the most important factor in the development of Brunei as a Malay multi-center by the sixteenth century, or even earlier. How can the phenomenon be explained? First of all, the fact that the Brunei Muslims concentrated in the Brunei town proper, while the people in the interior remained for most of them and most of the time non-Muslims needs to be examined further in order to clarify the issue. Indeed, Islam became the centripetal point for urbanism-to live within a burgeoning community with its various urban elements and activities. Moreover, despite the acknowledgement of the early development of “Brunei” by some external sources, especially Chinese,1 local historical evidences are still wanting to corroborate the early glory of Brunei.
