![Percentage population of Islam in Malaysia by district, 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Percentage_population_of_Islam_in_Malaysia_by_district%2C_2020.svg)
Islam in Malaysia is represented by the
Shafi‘i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
school of
Sunni jurisprudence.
[malaysianbar.org:PRESS STATEMENT: Malaysia a secular State](_blank)
18 July 2007[Wu & Hickling, p. 35.] Islam was introduced to Malaysia by traders arriving from
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
,
China and the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
. It became firmly established in the 15th century. In the
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan
Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...
, Islam is granted the status of "religion of the Federation" to symbolize its importance to Malaysian society, while defining Malaysia
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
ally as a
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
state. Therefore, other religions can be practiced freely.
Close to 7% adhere to smaller branches (
Ibadi
The Ibadi movement or Ibadism ( ar, الإباضية, al-Ibāḍiyyah) is a school of Islam. The followers of Ibadism are known as the Ibadis.
Ibadism emerged around 60 years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD as a moderate sc ...
,
Quranist, etc.).
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
is a country whose most professed religion is
Islam. As of 2013, there were approximately 19.5 million Muslim adherents, or 61.3% of the population. Various Islamic holidays such as
Mawlid have been declared national holidays alongside Christmas,
Chinese New Year, and
Deepavali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...
.
Background
![Muslim self-identification](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Muslim_self-identification.jpg)
The draft
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan
Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...
did not specify an
official religion
A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a t ...
. This move was supported by the rulers of the nine Malay states, who felt that it was sufficient that Islam was the official religion of each of their individual states. However, Justice
Hakim Abdul Hamid of the
Reid Commission The Reid Commission was an independent commission responsible for drafting the Constitution of Malaysia, Constitution of the Federation of Malaya prior to Federation of Malaya, Malayan independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northe ...
which drafted the constitution came out strongly in favour of making Islam the official religion, and as a result the final constitution named Islam as the official religion of Malaysia. All
ethnic Malays
Malays ( ms, Orang Melayu, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: أورڠ ملايو) are an Austronesian peoples, Austronesian ethnic group native to eastern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands that lie between the ...
are Muslim, as defined by
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia
Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia defines various terms used in the Constitution. It has an important impact on Islam in Malaysia and the Malay people due to its definition of a Malay person under clause 2. It took effect after 31 Augu ...
.
Religion of the Federation
Nine of the Malaysian states, namely
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
, Terengganu,
Pahang
Pahang (;Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a ...
,
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
,
Perak
Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...
,
Perlis
Perlis, ( Northern Malay: ''Peghelih''), also known by its honorific title Perlis Indera Kayangan, is the smallest state in Malaysia by area and population. Located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it borders the Thai provinces o ...
,
Selangor
Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
,
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
, and
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...
have constitutional Malay monarchs (most of them styled as Sultans). These Malay rulers still maintain authority over religious affairs in states. The states of
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Malacca
Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site si ...
,
Sarawak
Sarawak (; ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the M ...
, and
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
do not have any sultan, but the king (
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The of ...
) plays the role of head of Islam in each of those states as well as in each of the
Federal Territories
A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...
of
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Labuan
Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capit ...
, and
Putrajaya
Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal government ...
.
On the occasion of Malaysia's first prime minister
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah ( ms, تونكو عبد الرحمن ڤوترا الحاج ابن سلطان عبد الحميد حليم شاه, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 8 Febru ...
's 80th birthday, he stated in the edition of 9 February 1983 of the newspaper ''
The Star
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' that the "country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion". In the same issue of ''The Star'', Abdul Rahman was supported by the third Malaysian prime minister,
Hussein Onn
Tun Hussein bin Dato' Onn ( ms, حسين بن عون, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; 12 February 1922 – 29 May 1990) was a Malaysian lawyer and politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia from the death of his predece ...
, who stated that the "nation can still be functional as a secular state with Islam as the official religion."
![Masjid Negara KL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Masjid_Negara_KL.JPG)
One of Malaysia's states,
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
, is governed by Pan-
Malaysian Islamic Party
The Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS; ms, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia; ms, ڤرتي إسلام سمليسيا, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia. As the party focused on Islamic fundamentalism, PAS's ...
(PAS), which is a conservative Islamic political party, with a proclaimed goal of establishing an
Islamic state
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
. Terengganu was briefly ruled by PAS from 1999 to 2004, but the ruling
Barisan Nasional
The National Front ( ms, Barisan Nasional; abbrev: BN) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1973 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties. It is also the third largest political coalition with 30 se ...
coalition has since won back the state. To counter the falling credibility of
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
's (UMNO) Islamic credentials vis-à-vis PAS, the head of the Barisan Nasional, Datuk Seri
Abdullah Badawi
Abdullah may refer to:
* Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname
* Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village
* Abdullah (film), ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan
* ''Abdullah: The Final Witness' ...
, proposed
Islam Hadhari
Islam Hadhari (Arabic الإسلام الحضاري) or "Civilisational Islam" is a theory of government based on the principles of Islam as derived from the Qur'an. It was founded in Malaysia by its first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman in 195 ...
. In the 1990s, the PAS-led state governments passed Islamic
hudud
''Hudud'' (Arabic: ''Ḥudūd'', also transliterated ''hadud'', ''hudood''; plural of ''hadd'', ) is an Arabic word meaning "borders, boundaries, limits". In the religion of Islam it refers to punishments that under Islamic law ( sharīʿah) ar ...
laws in Terengganu, but was struck down by the secular federal government.
The newest format of the
Malaysian identity card
The Malaysian identity card ( ms, kad pengenalan Malaysia), is the compulsory identity card for Malaysian citizens aged 12 and above. The current identity card, known as MyKad, was introduced by the ''National Registration Department of Malaysia ...
(''MyKad'') divides Malaysians into various religious groups, e.g., Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist. The introduction of this card caused a political uproar and remains controversial.
There is also an Islamic university in Malaysia called the
International Islamic University Malaysia
The International Islamic University Malaysia ( ms, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي اسلام انتارابڠسا مليسيا; ar, الجامعة الإسلامية العالمية بمال ...
, and a government institution in charge of organising pilgrimages to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
called
Tabung Haji
Lembaga Tabung Haji ( Jawi: تابوڠ حاج ; Arabic صندوق الحج) also known as Tabung Haji or TH is the Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board.(18 July 1990)Tunnel tragedy death toll may reach 155, says Yusof '' New Straits Times'' It was ...
(Pilgrim Fund Board of Malaysia). In addition, the government also funds the construction of mosques and ''
surau
A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, allow men and women, an ...
s''.
[Putra, Tunku Abdul Rahman (1986). ''Political Awakening'', p. 105. Pelanduk Publications. .]
The
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Malay: ''Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia'' , Jawi alphabet: جابتن كماجوان اسلام مليسيا) or popularly known as JAKIM, is a federal government agency in Malaysia that administers I ...
(JAKIM) was established under the Prime Minister's Department. Besides, every state also has its own version of JAKIM. Various Islamic rules and regulations governing the public and family life were codified into law that is compliant to Islam. Government policies have also be permissible in Islam, in other words 'halal'.
The National Fatwa Council was established by Conference of rulers to issue
fatwa
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
s. It conducts two types of meetings, one was authorised by the Conference of Rulers, another called ''muzakarah'' (discourse) is held occasionally without the order of the Conference of Rulers.
History
![Around-Kota-Bharu-(19)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Around-Kota-Bharu-%2819%29.jpg)
Individual Arab traders, including
Sahabas, preached in the
Malay Archipelago
The Malay Archipelago (Indonesian/Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," "Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Archipe ...
, Indo-China, and China in the early seventh century. Islam was introduced to the Malay Peninsula coast by Arabs in 674 CE.
Islam was also brought to Malaysia by
Arab Muslim
Arab Muslims ( ar, العرب المسلمون) are adherents of Islam who Identity (social science), identify Natural language, linguistically, Culture, culturally, and Genealogy, genealogically as Arabs. Arab Muslims greatly outnumber other Ethn ...
and
Tamil Indian Muslim traders in the 12th century AD. It is commonly held that Islam first arrived in the Malay peninsula since
Sultan Mudzafar Shah I (12th century) of Kedah (Hindu name Phra Ong Mahawangsa), the first ruler to be known to
convert to Islam
Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...
after being introduced to it by Indian traders who themselves were recent converts. In the 13th century, the
Terengganu Stone Monument was found at
Kuala Berang
Kuala Berang (est. pop. : 18764)Dept. of Urban and Rural Planning, Terengganu State Government. ''Rancangan Struktur Negeri Terengganu 2005-2015'' (Malay), 2005 is the seat and largest town of Hulu Terengganu District, Terengganu, Malaysia. The ...
, Terengganu, where the first Malay state to receive Islam in 1303 Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah, known as
Parameswara prior to his conversion, is the first
Sultan of Melaka. He converted to Islam after marrying a princess from
Pasai
The Samudera Pasai Sultanate (), also known as Samudera or Pasai or Samudera Darussalam or Pacem, was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries CE. The kingdom was believed to have been founded ...
, of present-day
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
The religion was adopted peacefully by the coastal trading ports people of Malaysia and Indonesia, absorbing rather than conquering existing beliefs. By the 15th and 16th centuries it was the majority faith of the Malay people.
Contemporary Islam
Contemporary Islam follows the
Shafi‘i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
te school of Sunnism. Some Islamic terms, such as the word Allah, are forbidden to non-Muslims both orally and in government's ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, reversing the 2009 ruling of a court of first instance.
Until the 1970s, many Malay Muslims lived a liberal and moderate Islam, like Indonesian Muslims. At this time, a wave of Islamisation emerged (sparked by various social and ethnic conflicts, linked to the Al-Arqam parties and Islam Se-Malaysia), so that today, Malaysia lives in a more Islamic environment compared to the earlier years. Malays, who represent 50.4% of the total population, are almost all Muslims. About 70% of Malay Muslims wear headscarves, while their port was marginal until the 1980s. The traditional Malay garment, of Islamic origin, is also worn by many Malays.
Freedom of worship
Article 3 (1) of the Malaysian Constitution provides:
Article 11 of the constitution provides:
Originally authorised for the country's independence in 1957, apostasy became illegal following an amendment to the country's constitution in 1988. The internationally reported attempt by Lina Joy to convert from Islam to Christianity is one of the most famous representations.
While this was not a problem during the colonial era, Muslims wishing to change their religion face severe deterrence. Before 1988, the question of freedom of religion and therefore of questions relating to the desire of citizens to change their religion was exclusively within the jurisdiction of secular courts. But since the law has changed, an amendment stipulates that secular courts no longer have the right to deal with claims by Muslims and that only Islamic Shariah courts have jurisdiction to discuss issues related to human rights.
Apostasy
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
is one of them and it follows that it is constitutionally legally impossible for a Muslim to change his belief.
![Putrajaya Mosque 2288564202 525ee843c2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Putrajaya_Mosque_2288564202_525ee843c2.jpg)
Many Muslims who have changed their religion, whether it is conversion to Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism and other beliefs, are forced for their own safety to lead a double life. In some cases, denunciations of apostasy have already been reported as being reported to the authorities by family members or co-workers.
In February 2014, Edry Faizal, a coordinator in charge of the Democratic Action Party, claimed that it was inconsistent from a Quranic point of view to forbid Muslims from freely changing beliefs, but from his point of view was the best alternative that the power had found to preserve its Malaysian electorate and consequently to remain in power continuously.
In May 2014, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said during his speech about the future of the country that: "We will never tolerate any demand for the right to apostasy by Muslims, and we refuse that Muslims can have the right to be tried by courts other than sharia courts, and we will not allow Muslims to participate in LGBT activities". But he concluded that this was necessary because: "This is in line with our efforts to make Malaysia a modern, progressive Muslim country in order to achieve the status of a developed nation with a high income for 2020".
In recent years, more and more voices have been asked to try to determine the number of ethnic Malay people supposed to have left Islam for another belief. The government has remained silent on the question, believing that it is much too controversial to be debated. However, in October 2011,
Harussani Zakaria, the mufti of the state of Perak, said that according to a 2008 government report that was kept secret, there would have been more than 260,000 Malayans since 1988 who secretly converted to Christianity. According to the 2010 population census, they would be between 3 and 4% of the Malaysian majority. Nevertheless, no data estimating the number of Malay who converted to another religion was provided.
Nonetheless, these remarks later triggered a polemic often repeated in the media by Islamist and nationalist circles that recognising the right of the Malayans and the entire Muslim community to be free to choose their own beliefs would risk provoking a "Massive exodus of apostates" within the nation, the same slogan has also been listed on the official website of Islam in Malaysia. On 17 December 2015, Malaysian Police Chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar during a speech, alluded to this mysterious report: "I can not tell you how much this issue is and potentially explosive. "
Religious discrimination
The state banishes and sanctions non-Muslim proselytism, but encourages conversions to Islam and remunerates them in order to facilitate the reduction of the non-Muslim population within the nation. Among the new rights provided to converts, if they have child/children, they have the right to convert their children by force to Islam, without having to consider the approval of his spouse.
In March 2015, unrest erupted in Miri, Sarawak, when a 13-year-old Dayak schoolgirl complained to the police, along with her parents, after being sequestrated at her school by two of her teachers who wanted to convert her to Islam by forcing her to recite Shahada. The latter then rewarded his conversion by donating 250 ringgit. In order to ease interfaith tensions, the two teachers were subsequently fired and transferred out of the state of Sarawak.
On 4 December 2015, Malaysian feminist and human rights activist, Shafiqah Othman Hamzah said, "What we are living in Malaysia is almost no different from apartheid. While segregation was racial in South Africa, in our country we live in religious segregation."
![Melaka_Chinese_Mosque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Melaka_Chinese_Mosque.jpg)
On 9 February 2016, the Putrajaya Federal Court ruled on a scandal termed the "S Deepa Affair" dating back to 4 September 2013, involving forced conversions of children to Islam in a Hindu couple married since 2003. In this case, the father N. Viran converted to Islam in November 2012 under the name of Izwan Abdullah decided to impose his conversion to his two children, his son Mithran and his daughter Sharmila. Shortly after that, the children had their names changed to Nabil for the son and Nurul Nabila for the girl. Becoming the only person judged capable of raising them, he had obtained from the Shari'a court of Seremban their sole custody and through this the dissolution of his marriage.
Their marriage, which had been celebrated according to the Hindu rites and subsequently registered in the civil registers, was thus dissolved by the Shari'a court on the sole ground of the conversion to Islam by the husband, making it immediately obsolete. However, the Seremban High Court ruled that the annulment of the marriage was illegal and decided to return the custody of the children to the mother on 7 April 2014.
However, two days later Izwan kidnapped his son during a home visit by his ex-wife. Deepa quickly requested the High Court for police aid in getting her son back. Izwan decided to appeal the decision by the Seremban High Court and sought the help from the Shari'a court to assert his rights. The Court of Appeal rejected both appeals in December 2014. Child custody in February 2016 was finally divided by the Court of Appeal. The guard of the son was entrusted to the father, in this case, Izwan and the guard of the daughter to the mother, S Deepa. Asked by the media at the announcement of the verdict, she announced in tears: "This is injustice, I am upset. It was my last hope that the court would return my two children, but it was not so. Only my daughter was given to me."
Influences of Zheng He's voyages
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred ...
is credited to have settled Chinese Muslim communities in
Palembang
Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palembang ...
and along the shores of
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
, the
Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
, and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. These Muslims allegedly followed the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
school in the Chinese language. This Chinese Muslim community was led by Hajji
Yan Ying Yu, who urged his followers to assimilate and take local names.
Denominations
Sunni Islam
The
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
of the
Shafi'i
The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
school of thought is the official, legal form in Malaysia, although
syncretist Islam with elements of
Shamanism
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...
is still common in rural areas. Mosques are an ordinary scene throughout the country and
adhan
Adhan ( ar, أَذَان ; also variously transliterated as athan, adhane (in French), azan/azaan (in South Asia), adzan (in Southeast Asia), and ezan (in Turkish), among other languages) is the Islamic call to public prayer (salah) in a mos ...
(call to prayer) from
minaret
A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گلدسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...
s are heard
five times a day. Government bodies and banking institutions are closed for two hours every Friday so Muslim workers can conduct
Friday prayer
In Islam, Friday prayer or Congregational prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلْجُمُعَة, ') is a prayer ('' ṣalāt'') that Muslims hold every Friday, after noon instead of the Zuhr prayer. Muslims ordinarily pray five times each day according ...
in mosques. However, in certain states such as
Kelantan
Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode").
Kelantan is located in the ...
, Terengganu,
Kedah
Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman (Islam), Aman and historically as Queda, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area ...
and
Johor
Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...
, the weekends fall on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. It has been introduced to several states, notably Kelantan and Terengganu, all businesses close for 2 hours on every Friday for prayers. Failure to comply would result in fines.
Since it is compulsory for Muslims to perform a prayer 5 times a day no matter where they are, almost all public places, including shopping malls, hotels, condominiums, usually have allocated spaces called "
Surau
A surau is an Islamic assembly building in some regions of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula used for worship and religious instruction. Generally smaller physical structures, its ritual functions are similar to a mosque, allow men and women, an ...
", for performing the Muslim prayers.
In 2017, it was reported that
Wahhabism
Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, an ...
is spreading among Malaysia's elite, and that the traditional Islamic theology currently taught in Government schools is gradually being shifted to a view of theology derived from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia.
Shia Islam
The Malaysian government has strict policies against other Islamic sects, including a complete ban on
Shia Islam
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, m ...
, allegedly to "avoid violence between the two faiths that has sometimes broken out in other parts of the world by promoting only the Sunni faith".
Due to
decades of the Saudi funding, Shia Islam is openly and freely demonised and Shia Muslims are oppressed in the country, their prayers and gatherings are broken up, state's secret service also engages in Shia
forced disappearance
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...
s.
Anti-Shi'ism
Anti-Shi'ism is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011 ...
reaches such an extent that the mainstream media always present Iran in bad light while blindly glorying Saudi Arabia.
For example, in 2019 Malaysian police raided multiple private functions commemorating the martyrdom of
Husayn ibn Ali
Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...
at the
battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...
, arresting scores of foreign and local Shia Muslims. While the true numbers are not known, the number of Malaysian Shia Muslims is estimated at around 250,000.
Other sects
A notable sect that has been outlawed is
Al-Arqam.
Muslims who believe
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphoric ...
to be the fulfilment of the Islamic prophecies concerning the return of Jesus, the
Ahmadiyya
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
, are also present. There are approximately 2,000 Ahmadis in the country. Though small in number, they face state sanctioned persecution in Malaysia.
Muslims who reject the authority of
hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approval ...
, known as
Quranists
Quranism ( ar, القرآنية, translit=al-Qurʾāniyya'';'' also known as Quran-only Islam) Brown, ''Rethinking tradition in modern Islamic thought'', 1996: p.38-42 is a movement within Islam. It holds the belief that traditional religious c ...
, Quraniyoon, or Ahl al-Quran, are also present in Malaysia. The most notable Malaysian Quranist is the scholar
Kassim Ahmad
Kassim Ahmad (9 September 1933 – 10 October 2017) was a Malaysian Muslim philosopher, intellectual, writer, poet and an educator. He was also a socialist politician in the early days of Malaya and later Malaysia and was detained without trial f ...
.
Cultural role
![Ustaz Kahwin](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Ustaz_Kahwin.jpg)
Islam is central to and dominant in Malay culture. A significant number of words in the Malay vocabulary can trace their origins to
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
which is the common language of Islamic prayer and rituals. This is, however, not exclusive and words from other cultures such as
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, Chinese,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
,
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
, English, and French can also be found in the Malay language. Islam is so ingrained in Malay life that Islamic rituals are practised as Malay culture. Muslim and Malays are interchangeable in many daily contexts.
![Malaysian girls](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Malaysian_girls.jpg)
Hari Raya Aidilfitri (
Eid ul-Fitr
, nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast
, observedby = Muslims
, type = Islamic
, longtype = Islamic
, significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan
, dat ...
) is an important festival celebrated by Malaysian Muslims.
Muslim women generally wear the ''
tudung
The tudong (Indonesian: ''tudung'', Jawi: تودوڠ) is a style of headscarf, worn as interpretation of the Islamic hijab, prevalent amongst many Muslim women in the Malay-speaking world; Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. Today, the t ...
'' (
hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
or headscarf) over their heads. However, Malay women not wearing any headgear are not reprimanded or penalised. Prominent Malaysian female examples are
Rafidah Aziz
Rafidah binti Aziz ( Jawi: ; born 4 November 1943) is a Malaysian politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for the Selayang from 1978 to 1982 and Kuala Kangsar constituency from 1982 to 2013. Born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Rafidah was Min ...
, International Trade and Industry Minister and
Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali
Malay styles and titles#Tun, Tun Physician, Dr. Siti Hasmah binti Haji Mohamad Ali (Jawi alphabet, Jawi: سيتي حسمه بنت محمد علي; born 12 July 1926) is the spouse and wife of Mahathir Mohamad, the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of M ...
, wife of then Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
. However, with the influx of Arabic travellers, foreign Muslim women (
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
) wearing
hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
that leave only their eyes exposed are often spotted in tourist attractions, not the least at the shopping malls. At certain Malaysian institutions such as the International Islamic University, wearing of the tudung is mandatory; however, for non-Muslim students this usually amounts to a loosely worn piece of cloth draped over the back of the head.
Some regard the ''tudung'' to be an indication of Arabic influence in Malay Muslim culture, and point to incidents such as the banning of the traditional Malay ''
wayang kulit'' in the state of Kelantan (which was ruled by the
Islamist PAS) to be "un-Islamic".
Malaysia's top Islamic body, the National Fatwa Council, ruled against Muslims practising
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
, saying it had elements of other religions that could corrupt Muslims.
The same body has ruled against ghosts and other supernatural beings.
Political issues
Definition of Malay
![Melaka Islamic Center](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Melaka_Islamic_Center.jpg)
As defined by the
Constitution of Malaysia
The Federal Constitution of Malaysia ( ms, Perlembagaan
Persekutuan Malaysia) which was promulgated on 16 September 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia and contains a total of 183 articles. It is a written legal document which was preceded ...
, Malays must be Muslim, regardless of their ethnic heritage; otherwise, legally, they are not Malay. Consequently, apostate Malays would have to forfeit all their constitutional privileges, including their
Bumiputra
''Bumiputera'' or ''Bumiputra'' ( Jawi: ) is a term used in Malaysia to describe Malays, the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia, and various indigenous peoples of East Malaysia (see official definition below). The term is sometimes controver ...
status, which entitles them to
affirmative action in university admissions and discounts on purchases of vehicles or real estate. It is legally possible to become a Malay if a non-Malay citizen with a Malaysian parent converts to Islam and thus claims all the Bumiputra privileges granted by
Article 153 of the Constitution and the
New Economic Policy
The New Economic Policy (NEP) () was an economic policy of the Soviet Union proposed by Vladimir Lenin in 1921 as a temporary expedient. Lenin characterized the NEP in 1922 as an economic system that would include "a free market and capitalism, ...
(NEP). However, the convert must "habitually speak the
Malay language
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , Rejang script, Rencong: ) is an Austronesian languages, Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spo ...
" and adhere to Malay culture. A tertiary textbook for Malaysian studies following the government-approved syllabus states: "This explains the fact that when a non-Malay embraces Islam, he is said to ''masuk Melayu'' ("become a Malay"). That person is automatically assumed to be fluent in the Malay language and to be living like a Malay as a result of his close association with the Malays".
Islam in Malaysia is thus closely associated with the Malay people, something an Islamic scholar has criticised, saying that Malaysian Islam is "still clothed in communal garb; that Muslims in Malaysia have yet to understand what the universal spirit of Islam means in reality".
Sharia legal system
![Anti-Islam Film protests (8009245996)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Anti-Islam_Film_protests_%288009245996%29.jpg)
Parallel to the civil courts, there are
Sharia
Sharia (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the H ...
courts which conduct legal matters related to Muslim family sphere. Legal issues like
Muslim divorce and Muslim
apostasy
Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion that i ...
are conducted in the
Syariah Courts. However, there are cases whereby apostasy cases are tried in the Federal Courts. Non-Muslims are not bound by Sharia.
Accusations of "Christian agendas"
In mid-2017, Kamarul Zaman Yusoff who worked as a lecturer at
Universiti Teknologi MARA
The MARA Technological University (Malay: ''Universiti Teknologi MARA''; Jawi: اونيۏرسيتي تيكنولوڬي مارا; abbr. UiTM) is a public university based primarily in Shah Alam, Selangor. It was established to help rural Mal ...
alleged that it was the Christian members of the largely Chinese-based
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party (abbreviation: DAP; ms, Parti Tindakan Demokratik; ; ta, ஜனநாயக செயல் கட்சி) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left social democracy, social democratic political party in Malaysia. ...
(DAP) that held effective power over the party and that it had a "Christian agenda". He claimed that numerous party officials including party Secretary-General
Lim Guan Eng
Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, Member of the ...
of being a Christian. DAP parliamentary leader
Lim Kit Siang
Lim Kit Siang (; born 20 February 1941) is a Malaysian politician. He is the longest-serving leader of the opposition in Malaysia, having held the position for a total of 29 years on three separate occasions. He is also former Secretary-Genera ...
refuted the allegations and accused the
United Malays National Organisation
The United Malays National Organisation (Malay: ; Jawi: ; abbreviated UMNO () or less commonly PEKEMBAR), is a nationalist right-wing political party in Malaysia. As the oldest continuous national political party within Malaysia (since its in ...
(UMNO) of spreading lies about the DAP.
On 12 July 2018, UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam claimed that the DAP which is a component party of the then governing
Pakatan Harapan
The Alliance of Hope ( ms, Pakatan Harapan; abbrev: PH; stylized as HARAPAN) is a Malaysian political coalition consisting of centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has been the r ...
coalition was attempting to make Christianity the official religion of Malaysia.
Clothing
![Siti Nurhaliza - Khairul Fahmi's Wedding 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Siti_Nurhaliza_-_Khairul_Fahmi%27s_Wedding_2013.jpg)
As of 2013 most Muslim Malaysian women wear the
tudung
The tudong (Indonesian: ''tudung'', Jawi: تودوڠ) is a style of headscarf, worn as interpretation of the Islamic hijab, prevalent amongst many Muslim women in the Malay-speaking world; Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore. Today, the t ...
, a type of hijab. This use of the tudung was uncommon prior to the 1979
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynas ...
,
[Boo, Su-lyn.]
Tudung industry in Malaysia: Cashing in on conservative Islam
Archive
. ''The Malay Mail
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
''. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015
See version at
Yahoo! News
Yahoo! News is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo!. The site was created by a Yahoo! software engineer named Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such as the Associate ...
. "Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Hassan, former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) lecturer in history and dakwah, said Muslim women in Malaysia started donning the tudung in the 1970s. ..t's considered wrong," he added, estimating that more than 70 per cent of Muslim women in Malaysia wear the headscarf." and the places that had women in tudung tended to be rural areas. The usage of the tudung sharply increased after the 1970s,
[Leong, Trinna.]
Malaysian Women Face Rising Pressure From Muslim 'Fashion Police'
Archive
. ''HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
''. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015. "Malay women began adopting conservative styles of dress in the 1970s, reflecting a growing politicization of religion in the Islamic world. Many now wear the headscarf that in earlier decades had been worn mostly in conservative backwaters." as religious conservatism among Malay people in both Malaysia and Singapore increased.
Several members of the Kelantan
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
in the 1960s believed the hijab was not mandatory.
[ However, in 2015 the majority of Malaysian ulama believed this previous viewpoint was un-Islamic.][Fernandez, Celine.]
Why Some Women Wear a Hijab and Some Don’t
Archive
. ''The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''. 18 April 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
Norhayati Kaprawi directed a 2011 documentary about the use of tudung in Malaysia, ''Siapa Aku?'' ("Who am I?").[
Despite the hijab, or tudung being non-mandatory in Malaysia, some government buildings enforce within their premises a dresscode which bans women, Muslim and non-Muslim, from entering while wearing "revealing clothes".][ ()]
Distribution of Muslims
According to the 2010 census, 61.3% of its population (17,375,794 people) were Muslim. All individuals who self-identify as ethnic Malays are categorised as Muslims (see also ethnoreligious group
An ethnoreligious group (or an ethno-religious group) is a grouping of people who are unified by a common religious and ethnic background.
Furthermore, the term ethno-religious group, along with ethno-regional and ethno-linguistic groups, is a s ...
). The data shows the non-Malay who self-identifies as Muslim does not "menjadi Melayu" and still counted separately from Malay ethnic group. Information collected in the census based on respondent's answer and did not refer to any official document.
By ethnic group
By gender and ethnic group
By state/federal territory and ethnic group
Islam-related tourist attractions
* Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia ( ms, Muzium Kesenian Islam Malaysia) is a museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was officially opened on 12 December 1998. The museum is the largest museum of Islamic arts in South East Asia with more than seven ...
* Islamic Heritage Museum
* Kelantan Islamic Museum
The Kelantan Islamic Museum ( ms, Muzium Islam Kelantan) is a museum about Islam in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia.
History
The museum building used to be the official residence of Kelantan Chief Minister Hassan Mohd Salleh. The building als ...
* Malacca Al-Quran Museum
* Malacca Islamic Museum
* Malay and Islamic World Museum
The Malay and Islamic World Museum ( ms, Muzium Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam) is a museum about Malay and Islamic cultures in Malacca City, Malacca, Malaysia. It is housed in the Bastion House building which was built in 1910 and occupied by the ...
* Penang Islamic Museum
See also
* Outline of Islam
* Glossary of Islam
* Index of Islam-related articles
* Freedom of religion in Malaysia
* Islam by country
* Religion in Malaysia
* Tabung Haji
Lembaga Tabung Haji ( Jawi: تابوڠ حاج ; Arabic صندوق الحج) also known as Tabung Haji or TH is the Malaysian hajj pilgrims fund board.(18 July 1990)Tunnel tragedy death toll may reach 155, says Yusof '' New Straits Times'' It was ...
References
External links
IslamGRID project by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim)
Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim)
Jakim.TV: Islamic TV by Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islam In Malaysia
Islam in Malaysia,
Religion in Malaysia
Islam by country, Malaysia