Islam is the majority religion in Malaysia, being followed by more than 65% of the country's population, accounting for 22.4 million Muslim adherents. The Shafi'i school of Sunni jurisprudence is predominant in the country.malaysianbar.org:PRESS STATEMENT: Malaysia a secular State , 18 July 2007.Wu & Hickling, p. 35. A minority of Hanafi school followers is also found within the country. Hanafi presence in Malaysia is primarily amongst Hui Muslims.
Islam was introduced to Malaysia by traders arriving from Persia, Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly established in the 15th century. Various Islamic holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Mawlid have been declared national holidays.
The Constitution of Malaysia grants Islam the status of "religion of the Federation" to represent its importance to Malaysian society, but this is often interpreted as being primarily for ceremonial purposes, while defining Malaysia constitutionally as a de jure secular state. Despite this, freedom of religion is severely limited and religious discrimination is institutionalised; Malaysian Malays are legally forbidden from practicing any religion other than Sunni Islam, and other faiths are only tolerated for non-Malays. The state enforces a strict religious monopoly that excludes Shia Islam, which is deemed as a "deviant sect" and officially banned and unrecognised. Consequently, authorities systematically target the Shia community through raids and forced closures of gatherings, as there are no public, recognised Shia mosques allowed in the country.
History
Scholarly discussions on the first and early propagation of Islam in the Malay Peninsula have been inconclusive due to the paucity of documentary evidence. However, the main theory of the Islamization of the area comes either from the Indian subcontinent (either Gujarat or South India) or the Arab-Persian lands and this most likely started in the 12th century.
However, the discovery of a Muslim tombstone in Pahang, which has been dated to 419 AH (1028 CE), suggests Islam's presence in the Malay world much earlier, however the majority of those inscriptions were about foreign Muslims.Ahmat Adam, The New and Correct Date of the Terengganu Inscription, Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, December 6, 2022 In the 19th century, the Terengganu Inscription Stone was found in Kuala Berang, Terengganu, highlighting the evidence of Islam in the Malay state, the stone is dated to either the year 1303 or 1383. Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah, previously known as Parameswara prior to his conversion, is the first Sultan of Melaka in the early 15th century. He converted to Islam after marrying a princess from Pasai, of present-day Indonesia.
The religion was adopted peacefully by the people of the coastal trading ports in modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, absorbing rather than conquering existing beliefs. Islam gradually spread from coastal ports to the hinterland, by the 17th century the majority of people in the Malay Peninsula had converted to Islam.
Influences of Zheng He's voyages Zheng He, a 14th and 15th century Chinese explorer, is credited to have settled Chinese Muslim communities in Palembang and along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. These Muslims allegedly followed the Hanafi school in the Chinese language. This Chinese Muslim community was led by Yan Ying Yu, who urged his followers to assimilate and take local names.
Background Religion of the Federation The initial draft of the Constitution of Malaysia did not specify an official religion. 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 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.Wu & Hickling, pp. 19, 75. All ethnic Malays are Muslim, as defined by Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia.Article 160 (2). Constitution of Malaysia.
Nine of the Malaysian states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan 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, Malacca, Sarawak, and Sabah do not have any sultan, but the king (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) plays the role of head of Islam in each of those states as well as in each of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya.
Although Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, the Reid Commission who drafted the Malaysian Constitution clarified that:
This observance was originated from a memorandum submitted by the Alliance Party (consist of UMNO, MCA and MIC who represent the three major races in Malaya) to the Reid Commission on 25 September 1956. The memorandum on its proposal on state religion stated that:
After the recommendations by the Reid Commission were examined and revised by a Working Party, the final draft for the constitution was published in a white paper in June 1957, which reiterated that Malaysia is still a secular country despite Islam being recognised as its official religion:
The passage in the Reid Commission report that affirmed Malaysia's secular nature was cited by the Malaysian Supreme Court (now Federal Court) in the 1990 case of Teoh Eng Huat v Kadhi, Pasir Mas & Anor, when it ruled that the religion of a minor shall be decided by his parents or guardian. Similarly, in the 2024 case of Nik Elin v Kelantan, the Federal Court observed that Malaysia still leans more towards secularity, with some limited application of Islamic law:
On the occasion of Malaysia's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman's 80th birthday, he stated in the edition of 9 February 1983 of the newspaper The Star that the "country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion".Ooi, J. 2007. "Merdeka... 50 years of Islamic State?" . Retrieved 21 July 2007.Four of Malaysia's states, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, are governed by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which is a conservative Islamic political party, with a proclaimed goal of establishing an Islamic state.
Since 1999, the word "Islam" has been printed at the front of Malaysian identity card (MyKad) for Malaysian Muslims, while the religious status for citizens of other religion was not displayed and was only stored in the identity card's electronic chip. The introduction of this identity card format has caused a political uproar and remains controversial.
There is also an Islamic university in Malaysia called the International Islamic University Malaysia, and a government institution in charge of organising pilgrimages to Mecca called Tabung Haji (Pilgrim Fund Board of Malaysia). In addition, the government also funds the construction of mosques and suraus.Putra, Tunku Abdul Rahman (1986). Political Awakening, p. 105. Pelanduk Publications. .
The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (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 fatwas. 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.
Contemporary Islam Contemporary Islam follows the Shafi‘ite school of Sunnism. Some Islamic terms, such as the word "Allah" (Arabic for "God"), are forbidden to non-Muslims both orally and in writing. The government ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims reversed the 2009 ruling of a court of first instance.
Until the 1970s, many Malay Muslims followed 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 all Muslims. About 70% of Malay Muslim women wear headscarves, but was marginal until the 1980s. The traditional Malay garment, of Islamic origin, is also worn by many Malays. The Malaysian government promotes a moderate version of Sunni Islam called Islam Hadhari.
Freedom of worship
Article 3 (1) of the Malaysian Constitution provides:
Article 11 of the constitution provides:
However, matters of apostasy falls within the exclusive jurisdiction of Shariah courts following an amendment to the country's constitution in 1988. The internationally reported failed attempt by Lina Joy in 2007 to convert from Islam to Christianity through the secular Federal Court is one of the most famous representations.Many Muslims who have changed their religion, whether it is conversion to Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, 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. The government has remained silent on the question, believing that it is much too controversial to be debated. However estimates go from 135, according to Ridhuan Tee, a Muslim preacher, to 260,000, according to Harussani Zakaria, the mufti of the state of Perak. The latter highest estimate when put in the context of the 2010 population census would make them 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 potentially explosive. "
Religious discrimination