Abstract: Peureulak Sultanate and the Discourse on ‘Zero Point of Nusantara’s Islamic Civilization’. In March 2017, Indonesian Government officially recognized Barus, a historical small city at
the western coast of Sumatra, as the zero point of Indonesian Islamic Civilization. This recognition was marked by a relatively modest monument, inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Indonesia. Muslim historians responded differently: some agree and others disagree. The present author finds it very important to underline once again that Peureulak Sultanate at the eastern coast of Aceh was the first sizeable Islamic Kingdom of not just the Indonesia archipelago but also of the whole Southeast Asian archipelago. As a matter of fact, this has been the conclusion of several historical studies. Therefore, from scholarly point of view, the placement of this important monument at Barus needs to be studied and revisited. While Barus was indeed
the first point of the arrival of Islam, the Muslim community there did not form any sizeable socio-political force. Peureulak, on the other hand, was successful in doing so.

Keywords: Peureulak, Aceh, Nusantara, Southeast Asia, politics, manuscript