In the 19th Century, travel became much easier. As a result, many more Javanese undertook the pilgrimate to Mecca. In Arabia, they noticed that the Islam of the Prophet's homeland was very different from the syncretic mixture they were used to. They returned to Java committed to returning Islam to a purer, more original form. This purer form is now known as Modernist Islam, and its followers as Santri Muslims. The older syncretic religion is now called Traditionalist Islam, and its followers Abangan Muslims.

The map on the right shows that today, the Traditionalists of Java are completely surrounded by Modernists. But even on Java itself, the Traditionalist garb of kain-kebaya is gone from the streets, replaced by Modernist head-scarves. And the main Modernist popular organisation â€" Muhammadiyah â€" has 20 million members: as big as Australia, or California.