Status of religious freedom in Malaysia
Encyclopedia
Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. First, Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and (subject to applicable laws restricting the propagation of other religions to Muslims) to propagate it. Second, the Constitution also provides that Islam is the religion of the country but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony (Article 3).
The status of freedom of religion in Malaysia is a controversial issue. Questions including whether Malaysia is an Islamic state or secular state remains unresolved. In recent times, there have been a number of contentious issues and incidents which has tested the relationship between the different races in Malaysia.
; 9.1 percent Christianity
; 6.3 percent Hinduism
; and 2.6 percent traditional Chinese religions
. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism
, Folk religion
, Sikhism
and other belief systems. However, these figures may be misleading as professing the religion of Islam is a requirement for being a Malay in the sense of the Malaysian Constitution
. Moreover, Muslims who wish to leave Islam face strong disincentives.
). One is the secular justice system based upon laws gazetted by Parliament
. The other is sharia
(syariah, Islamic law). Ostensibly Syariah Court
s only have jurisdiction over persons who declare themselves to be Muslims. Consequently, this results in non-Muslims not having legal standing in Syariah Courts.
Where decisions of the syariah court affect a non-Muslim, he or she can seek recourse in the secular courts which, in theory, overrule the syariah courts as the Syariah courts are limited in their jurisdiction by Article 121 of the Federal constitution. In 2006 a judge ruled that Article 121 limited the federal courts from ruling on matters ruled on by the Syariah court when it touches Islamic matters. This was seen as a misinterpretation of the article by some, and the case is under appeal in the court of appeals.
The rules of sharia are set by the various sultan
s of the states. Historically a sultan had absolute authority over the state. Prior to independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman
managed to convince the sultans to cede some states' powers to the federal government
. One of the terms of this agreement is that the sultans still are the ultimate authority of Islamic law in their respective states. The same arrangement was long held even during British colonial rule.
Constitutionally, one of the four tests for being Malay in Malaysia is that one must be a Muslim. Therefore, all Malays are considered to fall under Islamic law. The rationale for this is that Islam is considered intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity which culturally and historically under Sultan rule who is a Muslim.
On September 29, 2001, the then Prime Minister
, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
declared that the country was an Islamic state
(negara Islam). The opposition leader at the time, Lim Kit Siang, is now actively seeking support to declare Mahathir's move as unconstitutional by repeatedly clarifying that Malaysia is a secular state
with Islam as its official religion as enshrined in the Constitution. However, the coalition government headed by Mahathir at the time held more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament. A two-thirds majority vote in Parliament is required for constitutional amendments in Malaysia.
However, Sunday which is the Christian traditional holiday is the official weekend holiday in the Federal Territories and ten out of thirteen states, unlike practices in Middle Eastern Muslim countries. The exception are the states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, where the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday. Most Muslims in Malaysia accept this, although some have expressed disquiet since the most holy period in a Muslim's week is between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, when the congregational Jumaat prayer is held. The practice of having Sunday as the weekend holiday is a departure from traditional Islamic practices, dating to British colonial days when the British started bringing in non-Muslim immigrants into the country.
In May 2001, the government decided not to approve the Falun Gong
Preparatory Committee’s application to register as a legal organization. This action is believed to be more related to the government's wish to improve relations with China rather than an attempt to undermine the Falun Gong
in favour of Islam. The government has not prevented Falun Gong members from carrying out their activities in public.
For Muslim children, religious education according to a government-approved curriculum is compulsory in public schools. There are no restrictions on homeschooling
, although primary school is compulsory. However, private schools and colleges do have some legal requirements.
Several religious holidays are recognized as official holidays, including Hari Raya Puasa (Muslim), Hari Raya Haji
(Muslim), the Prophet's birthday (Muslim), Wesak Day (Buddhist), Deepavali (Hindu), Thaipusam
(Hindu), Christmas
(Christian), and, in Sabah
and Sarawak
, Good Friday
(Christian).
In early 2005, much debate was stirred up by a proposed Inter-Faith Commission put forward by various individuals, some of which included academics and lawyers from the Bar Council.
The steering committee behind the proposal for a draft bill for the commission organised a national conference that saw about 200+ people from all religious backgrounds attending it. There they hashed out the framework for a commission that could advise the relevant parties on the many interfaith issues that arise in pluralistic Malaysia such as conversion from Islam to another faith, which is deemed as apostasy in Malaysia.
PAS, member of parliament Dzulkefly Ahmad
, stated that he is against religious pluralism saying that it has,"relativised" truth claims,and says that Islam is the same has other religions. Dr.Ahmad went on to make a distinction between promoting relativism of religions and cooperation with people in a "multi-racial,multi-religious,multi-cultural, and multi-lingual" society, and that the latter was necessary to build a strong country.
After much coverage in the local newspapers, the draft bill was put on hold by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
, due to the controversy surrounding it.
In 2006, T. Saravanan, a Muslim convert, sought to dissolve his marriage with his non-Muslim wife via the Syariah Court. His wife, R. Subashini, applied to Kuala Lumpur High Court for an injunction against her husband seeking divorce in the Syariah Court. The High Court dismissed her application. This was affirmed in the Court of Appeal, where the court also ordered Subashini to take her case to the Syariah Court. As of September, 2007, their case is pending in the Federal Court after an appeal by Subashini. Subashini is also seeking to stop or declare void the conversion of their children. As of 27 December 2007, R. Subashini failed in an attempt to stop her husband from divorcing her in an Islamic court. She also failed to persuade the federal court her husband should be banned from converting their four-year-old son to Islam. The appeal was rejected on a technicality but court added that she would be able to try again in a few months.
This case was tested by Teoh Eng Huat vs Kadhi mot of Pasir Mas Kelantan in 1986. Teoh Eng Huat's daughter was a ward of the state. She married a Muslim. Hence then a minor, converted to Islam. The high court ruled that the father's right to decide the religion and upbringing of the infant is allowed "subject to the condition that it does not conflict with the principles of the infant's choice of religion guaranteed to her under the Federal Constitution". Through the proceedings, Susie Teoh never appeared in court to testify.
The decision was overruled on appeal to the Supreme Court, who held "in all the circumstances and in the wider interests of the nation no infant shall have the automatic right to receive instruction relating to any other religion other than (her) own without the permission of the parent or guardian".
The Supreme Court further held that this was "only of academic interest" as Susie Teoh was no longer a minor at the time of hearing.
In response several states (Islamic laws are passed by individual states) passed laws providing for conversion by 15 (defined as "baligh" in Islam or the age of majority). Federal law still provides for the age of majority as 18.
The court determined that as a state court, it had jurisdiction over all state matters even those concerning Islam. Further, based upon the Federal Constitution (article 12), The Guardianship of Infants Ordinance (Sabah) 1999, The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, 1976 and The Administration of Islamic Law Enactment 1992 (Sabah) determined the conversion of a two year old child to be void.
In 2003, this issue became prominent again in the case of Shamala Sathiyaseelan v Dr. Jeyaganesh C. Mogarajah. In the first hearing before the High Court, Shamala Sathiyaseelan sought (1) to bring committal proceedings against the father of the infants for breach of the interim custody order of the High Court of April 17, 2003, and (2) to declare that she was not bound by any decisions, order or proceedings of the syariah court.
Earlier the High Court had granted custody to Shamala Sathiyaseelan with access for the father. He failed to return the children to her on May 25, 2003. Shamala and Jeyaganesh were married under Hindu rites registered under the jurisdiction of the Law Reform Act. The husband converted to Islam on Nov 19, 2002. On Nov 25, 2002 he converted the children without the mother's knowledge or consent. They were still not divorced at the time.
Without knowledge of Shamala he then obtained a custody order in the syariah court on Jan. 30, 2003.
The High Court ruled that the custody order issued by the syariah court "did not change the interim civil court order". They ruled that the syariah court order "is not binding on the plaintiff wife who is non-Muslim". The interim custody order of the High Court and proceedings were binding on the now Muslim husband as matters arising out of the Hindu marriage registered under the Law Reform Act. As his Hindu wife did not file for divorce, she remains "his unconverted wife" under this law.
On April 13, 2004 Shamala once again went to the high court. This time to seek an order that the conversion of the infants was void. As in Chang Ah Mee, she cited the Federal Constitution (Article 12), the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act, 1993.
The Guardianship of Infants Act for the Federal Territories differed from that of Sabah in one aspect as it used the term "parent or guardian" and not "both parents or a guardian" as in AMLE Sabah.
In this case the High Court ruled that only the consent of one parent is required in the conversion to Islam of a person below 18 in the Federal Territories.
Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution reads "For the purposes of cl. (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian."
The High Court interpreted the term parent to mean father. The equality of rights granted to both parents under the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1961 was held inapplicable on the Muslim father.
In its judgement the High Court held the fatwa or the Mufti of the Federal Territory as persuasive (legal term). The Mufti stated that the father had the right to unilaterally convert the infants to Islam.
Shamala once again went to the high court on July 20, 2004 to apply inter alia for custody, care and control of the infants. The court awarded it with access for the father. In its judgement, it stated that "the right of religious practice of the two infant children shall be exercised equally by both parents" based on the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961. This was in spite of the earlier ruling that this act does not apply to Jeyaganesh who was now a Muslim.
The court also held that the applicable law at the time of conversion was civil law. It even ruled that the infants were "still Hindus at the time of conversion" and that the father should have consulted the mother before converting the infants.
However the court explicitly cautioned the mother from "influencing the infants'
religious belief by teaching them her articles of faith or by making them eat pork" or she would risk losing her children. The rationale given was that the court "cannot run away from the fact that the two infant children are now muallaf" (converts to Islam).
As the case has gained prominence various religious organizations, human rights organizations and women's issues organizations have registered watching briefs. En. Haris Bin Mohamed Ibrahim has registered a watching brief on behalf of the Women's Aid Organisation, (WAO), All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Women's Center for Change, Penang (WCC) and Sisters In Islam (SIS). A. Kanesalingam, held watching brief for the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS). Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Bar Council are also holding watching briefs for this case.
The various organizations holding watching brief in this case now call themselves loosely Article 11 after the article of the Federal Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion.
In 1999 the High Court ruled that secular courts have no jurisdiction to hear applications by Muslims to change religions. According to the ruling, the religious conversion of Muslims lies solely within the jurisdiction of Islamic courts.
The issue of Muslim apostasy
is very sensitive. In 1998 after a controversial incident of attempted conversion, the Government stated that apostates (i.e., Muslims who wish to leave or have left Islam for another religion) would not face government punishment so long as they did not defame Islam after their conversion. However, whether the very act of conversion was an "insult to Islam" was not clarified at the time. The Government opposes what it considers deviant interpretations of Islam, maintaining that the "deviant" groups’ extreme views endanger national security. In 2005 international media attention focused on the Sky Kingdom
sect whose founder Ayah Pin claimed to be God, and whose members - mostly Malays - were accordingly charged with religious "deviancy" and "humiliating Islam."
In the past, the Government imposed restrictions on certain Islamic groups, primarily the small number of Shi'a. The Government continues to monitor the activities of the Shi'a minority.
In April 2000, the state of Perlis
passed a sharia law subjecting Islamic "deviants" and apostates to 1 year of "rehabilitation" (under the Constitution, religion, including sharia law, is a state matter). Leaders of the opposition Islamic party, PAS, have stated the penalty for apostasy — after the apostates are given a period of time to repent and they do not repent — is death.
Many Muslims who have converted to Christianity
, Hinduism
, Buddhism
, Sikhism
and other religions lead "double lives", hiding their new faith from friends and family.
General interpretation about the freedom of religion as described in the constitution in Malaysia is that a person has a right to practice his or her religion freely. This freedom does not grant a person a right to change his or her religion "at a whim and fancy". For example a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion must get an explicit permission from a syariah court. The syariah courts rarely grant such requests, except in cases where a person has actually lived his or her whole adult life as a person of different religion, and only wants to change the official documents to reflect this fact. The Islamic interpretation of the situation is that only the syariah courts can decide who is a Muslim and who is not. A person does not have such freedom, and so cannot have a say in the judgement given in a syariah court.
The Lina Joy
case challenged this view of the situation by taking the problem of apostasy to the Federal Court in 2007. Lina Joy lost the case and was denied identification as a Christian on her identification card. This cleared the situation about the overlapping areas of jurisdiction between the Islamic and the secular courts in Malaysia.
Statistics indicate that Negeri Sembilan
has the largest number of converts, with 840 applications made to officially renounce Islam in 2005, 62 of which succeeded. An academic has suggested that this is because Negeri Sembilan
is the only state which (officially) permits conversion. A convert must first apply to the Syariah Court for a declaration that he or she is no longer a Muslim; the convert will then be counseled for about a year by a Mufti
. If, after this period, the convert still wants to convert, the judge may permit the application. This process is unique to the state; no other state allows Muslims to officially convert. In 2006, the Negeri Sembilan Court also permitted Wong Ah Kiu
, a convert from Islam to Buddhism legally known as Nyonya binti Tahir, to be buried in the Buddhist fashion, although her conversion had not been legally recognised while she was still alive. The case marked the first time non-Muslims had testified in a Syariah court in Malaysia.
In five states — Perak
, Malacca
, Sabah
, Terengganu
, and Pahang
— conversion is a criminal offense which can be punished by a fine or jail term. In Pahang, convicted converts may also be punished with up to six strokes of the cane.
.
Joy appealed against this decision in the High Court, arguing that she should not be subject to sharia law, having converted to Christianity. In April 2001, Judge Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik ruled that she could not change her religious identity, because ethnic Malays are defined as Muslims under the Constitution. Joy then took her case to the Court of Appeal. On 19 September 2005, the court ruled in a 2-1 majority decision against Joy. Justice Abdul Aziz and Justice Arifin Zakaria agreed that the NRD was correct in rejecting Joy’s application and said it was up to the Syariah Court to settle the issue (Justice Gopal Sri Ram said it was null and void. ). Joy further appealed to the Federal Court of Malaysia, the highest court and the court of last resort in Malaysia. The Federal Court heard the appeal in July 2006, and it was presided by the Chief Justice of Malaysia
Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum, and Federal Court Judge Alauddin Sheriff.
On May 30, 2007, the Federal Court, in a 2-1 decision, dismissed Joy's appeal. The Court's panel ruled that only the Syariah Court had the power to allow Joy to remove her religious designation of Islam from her national identity card. Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court judge Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff delivered the majority decision dismissing her appeal. Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum dissented.
Revathi was denied the guardianship of her new born baby and was not allowed to meet her Hindu husband.
in Malay (Alkitab) and in Iban (Bup Kudus). The Kudus uses the term "Allah Taala" for God. The ban has since been rescinded. Abdullah Badawi, when in office as Home Minister, claimed it was the work of an overzealous bureaucrat and he had the ban repealed personally.
Some states have laws that prohibit the use of Malay-language religious terms such as usage of the term "Allah" for God by Christians, but the authorities do not enforce them actively.
Distribution of other materials such as books or tapes translated into Bahasa Melayu (local Malay) or Indonesian
is also discouraged. However, Malay-language Christian materials are available. Prior to the banning of the Bup Kudus in 2002, the distribution of Malay-language Christian materials faced few restrictions in East Malaysia.
to offer Friday prayers at their central mosque with immediate effect. Moreover, its failure by the Ahmadis to comply with the terms of the order will result in imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine up to 3000 Malaysian ringgit
. A large notice has been place outside the mosque which states Qadiani Bukan Agama Islam which translates to Qadiani [Ahmadiyyat] is not an Islamic Religion.
The Catholic
Society of Shah Alam
had been lobbying the state government for a permit to build a church in that city for more than 10 years. It was not until recently that the permit was finally granted. The church opened its doors on 10 September 2005.
The new pre-planned capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya
, features a grand mosque as a prominent feature of the planned community. On November 16, 2005, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam announced that the Malaysian government had generously allocated a parcel of land in Putrajaya to the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur for building a Catholic church-run community centre. The Putrajaya Catholic Church Building Committee was set up on October 3, 2005. According to the committee, "The architectural planning and design will conform to the Liturgical requirements complimenting the ambience of Putrajaya's lush greenery and landscape. We envisage the Putrajaya church to be a hallmark of the Catholic community in Malaysia and showcase the rich heritage of the Malaysian Catholics."
ns, of whom nearly 90 percent are practicing Hindus. Indian settlers came to Malaysia from India
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
After a violent conflict in Penang
between Hindu
s and Muslim
s in March 1998, the government announced a nationwide review of unlicensed Hindu temples and shrines. However, implementation was not vigorous and the program was not a subject of public debate. In April 2006, local authorities demolished several Hindu temples to make way for developmental projects. Their excuse was that these temples were unlicensed and squatting on government land.
Between April to May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus. On April 21, 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang
and Shah Alam
in Selangor
had been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam
from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism
.
On May 11, 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur
forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister. Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old.
According to a lawyer for the Hindu Rights Action Task Force, a Hindu temple
is demolished in Malaysia once every three weeks.
Malaysian Muslims have also grown more anti-Hindu
over the years. In response to the proposed construction of a temple in Selangor
, Muslims chopped off the head of a cow to protest, with leaders saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam
.
Laws in the country, especially those concerning religious identity, are generally slanted towards compulsion into converting to Islam.
), known as "subuh" (or dawn), occurs at around 5.30 AM with the exact time drifting throughout the year. Most Malaysian business start work at 9 AM. Many mosques amplify the early prayer call by way of loud speakers, and while in some cases only a few neighbouring homes are affected, some large mosques (for example the State Mosque of Selangor which has speakers on its minarets) have prayer calls which can be heard in a large surrounding area.
In 2004 the Bar Council of Malaysia journal "Infoline" carried an article which questioned the need for the Azan as it was disturbing to non-Muslims and not needful. The article was condemned because Azan is a religious requirement.
In December 2004, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim
mentioned in an interview that the Azan may be disturbing. He stated "...the Muslim call for Subuh (dawn) prayer may disturb the sleep of non-Muslims but they have accepted this as a fundamental part of Islam
. But how loud the volume of the PA
system in the mosque should be, is another matter."
Excessive noise however is common matter of uneasiness among some Malaysians because non-Muslims also often practise rituals that cause much discomfort to others (Muslims and non-Muslims alike). Among these are Chinese funeral processions that are often accompanied by drums and cymbals, and other rituals not exclusive to the Chinese.
A local daily, The Star reported that a proposal by Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw
to regulate the Azan so that it will not be too loud or disturb non-Muslims caused a stir in the Dewan Rakyat
. Muslim MPs accused him of being insensitive and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz blasted the DAP member for allegedly trying to destroy the multi-religious tolerance in the country.
for money paid to the government in form of "zakat
", or the obligatory alms Muslims must give to the poor. However, money paid to other causes in the name of other religions under similar circumstances is given only income tax relief, and such relief is given only if the particular beneficiary has obtained approved status from the Malaysian Government, which is difficult in practice. Money donated to such approved beneficiary is only deducted from the income on which the amount of tax is based, while zakat is deducted from the amount of tax itself. For example, suppose a person earning RM 50,000 owes a tax of RM 3,000 and donates RM 1,000 to zakat, the whole of the RM 1,000 is directly deducted from the RM 3,000, whereas donations to other approved beneficiary would permit only a deduction of the RM 1,000 against the RM 50,000. The former being a tax credit and the latter being a tax deduction.
Zakat (or tithe) monies, however, are paid by Muslims directly to official organisations run by state governments. Receipts are issued out and must be submitted to apply for tax relief.
The zakat organisations themselves are governed by specific Islamic rulings defining the categories of people who qualify to receive the alms as well as the amount to be paid out by Muslims based on their income.
In contrast, charities in Malaysia are run privately by voluntary organisations, collecting voluntary donations from the general public, not compulsory tithes - thus the difference in treatment by the government.
Additionally, income tax relief granted to companies for donation made to tax exempt charities is restricted to 5% of the agggregate income of the company. Not all non-Muslim charities are granted tax exempt status, it is only given to registered and approved charities, partly to prevent abuse. There are stringent requirements to gain this advantage. Having earned this advantage these charities are further disadvantage in that their prospective donors are discouraged from donating monies to these charities because the donors are given tax relief for up to 5% of their aggregate income only.
shall be distributed according to sharia law
. This is called the Faraid or the Islamic law of Inheritance. A Muslim is allowed to make a will
, called a wasiat, but only one-third of his estate shall be disposed of according to the will. Furthermore, the requirement under sharia law is that disposition according to wills shall not benefit any person opposed to Islam as a religion. This situation applies throughout Peninsula Malaysia and Sabah
. In Sarawak
, a Muslim testator may dispose one-third of his property to anyone he or she wishes.
" (not allowed) under Islam. One notable case was the banning of The Prince of Egypt
when its producers would not accept censorship of the character Moses
(Musa in Islam).
However, in a more recent case, The Passion of the Christ
was allowed, after the intervention of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, under strict conditions restricting its viewership to Christians with sales of tickets being carried out by various churches and para-church organisations.
In 2004, Yasmin Ahmad's (herself a Malaysian Muslim) film Sepet
was rejected by censors who asked that scenes be removed. 10 scenes were objectionable. Among objectionable material queried in the movie was why the movie did not depict any attempt to convert Jason (the Chinese non-Muslim main character) to Islam after he had fallen in love with a Malay girl.
due to its use of the word Allah
, the name for God which Christians had used for hundreds of years in the country. Their reasoning is that the word Allah by Christians would confuse Malay Muslims. The Herald meanwhile, filed suit at the beginning of December following warnings that its permit could be revoked if it did not cease use of the word “Allah” in the Malay language section of its newspaper. Countering the Herald's suit, the Malaysian security authorities on December 30, warned its printing permit would not be renewed if it continued using the word "Allah
," which the government continued to say can only be used by Muslims.
The Catholic Church began its challenge of the government gag order prohibiting it from using the word “Allah” in its Herald-The Catholic Weekly- through a judicial review. The government had earlier argued that the church’s application is frivolous and had urged the court to throw it out but Madam Justice Lau Bee Lan disagreed and allowed the application by the Titular Roman Catholic
Archbishop
of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Murphy Pakiam, for leave to sue the government regarding the use of the word “Allah” to proceed. Three points that were raised in the lawsuit. The first is for the court to declare that the government’s action in prohibiting The Herald from using the word “Allah” is illegal and null and void. The second is for a court declaration that the Archbishop as publisher of The Herald is entitled to use the word “Allah” and lastly, that the court should declare that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
was leaving Islam to embrace Christianity. The police had traced the message to a lady who had met Harussani Zakaria, mufti of the state of Perak in a meeting. He has stated that the message was to remain within the confines of the meeting but had made no attempt to verify the authenticity of the message nor report it to the police as converting Muslims is illegal under Malaysian law. On 17 November, Azhar Mansor declared that he had not renounced Islam, and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that there should now be an end to the speculation.
church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur was set on fire on January 8, 2010. While in Malacca, black paint was splashed on the outer wall of the Malacca Baptist
Church in Durian Daun.
The status of freedom of religion in Malaysia is a controversial issue. Questions including whether Malaysia is an Islamic state or secular state remains unresolved. In recent times, there have been a number of contentious issues and incidents which has tested the relationship between the different races in Malaysia.
Religious demography
Malaysia has a population of just over 27 million. As of the last Population and Housing Census, 60.4 percent of the population practices Islam; 19.2 percent BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
; 9.1 percent Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
; 6.3 percent Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
; and 2.6 percent traditional Chinese religions
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion or Shenism , which is a term of considerable debate, are labels used to describe the collection of ethnic religious traditions which have been a main belief system in China and among Han Chinese ethnic groups for most of the civilization's history until today...
. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
, Folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
, Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
and other belief systems. However, these figures may be misleading as professing the religion of Islam is a requirement for being a Malay in the sense of the Malaysian Constitution
Malaysian Malay
In Malaysia, the Malay population is defined by Article 160 of the Malaysian Constitution as someone born to a Malaysian citizen who professes to be a Muslim, habitually speaks the Malay language, adheres to Malay customs and is domiciled in Malaysia or Singapore...
. Moreover, Muslims who wish to leave Islam face strong disincentives.
Scope of Islamic law in Malaysia
The nation maintains two parallel justice systems in the country (see: Courts of MalaysiaCourts of Malaysia
The Judiciary of Malaysia is largely centralized despite Malaysia's federal constitution, heavily influenced by the British Common Law and to a lesser extent Islamic law, and is mostly independent from political interference.-History:...
). One is the secular justice system based upon laws gazetted by Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
. The other is sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
(syariah, Islamic law). Ostensibly Syariah Court
Syariah Court
Syariah refers to Sharia law in Islamic religious law and deals with exclusively Islamic laws, having jurisdiction upon every Muslim in Malaysia. The dual-system of law in Malaysia is provided for in Article 121 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Syariah Court system is one of the two separate...
s only have jurisdiction over persons who declare themselves to be Muslims. Consequently, this results in non-Muslims not having legal standing in Syariah Courts.
Where decisions of the syariah court affect a non-Muslim, he or she can seek recourse in the secular courts which, in theory, overrule the syariah courts as the Syariah courts are limited in their jurisdiction by Article 121 of the Federal constitution. In 2006 a judge ruled that Article 121 limited the federal courts from ruling on matters ruled on by the Syariah court when it touches Islamic matters. This was seen as a misinterpretation of the article by some, and the case is under appeal in the court of appeals.
The rules of sharia are set by the various sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
s of the states. Historically a sultan had absolute authority over the state. Prior to independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
managed to convince the sultans to cede some states' powers to the federal government
Politics of Malaysia
The politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. ...
. One of the terms of this agreement is that the sultans still are the ultimate authority of Islamic law in their respective states. The same arrangement was long held even during British colonial rule.
Constitutionally, one of the four tests for being Malay in Malaysia is that one must be a Muslim. Therefore, all Malays are considered to fall under Islamic law. The rationale for this is that Islam is considered intrinsic to Malay ethnic identity which culturally and historically under Sultan rule who is a Muslim.
On September 29, 2001, the then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad . is a Malaysian politician who was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the post for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, making him Malaysia's longest serving Prime Minister. His political career spanned almost 40 years.Born and raised in Alor Setar, Kedah, Mahathir...
declared that the country was an Islamic state
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a type of government, in which the primary basis for government is Islamic religious law...
(negara Islam). The opposition leader at the time, Lim Kit Siang, is now actively seeking support to declare Mahathir's move as unconstitutional by repeatedly clarifying that Malaysia is a secular state
Secular state
A secular state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential...
with Islam as its official religion as enshrined in the Constitution. However, the coalition government headed by Mahathir at the time held more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament. A two-thirds majority vote in Parliament is required for constitutional amendments in Malaysia.
Status of religious freedom
Government in general supports Islamic religious establishment and it is the official policy to "infuse Islamic values" into the administration of the country.However, Sunday which is the Christian traditional holiday is the official weekend holiday in the Federal Territories and ten out of thirteen states, unlike practices in Middle Eastern Muslim countries. The exception are the states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, where the weekend falls on Friday and Saturday. Most Muslims in Malaysia accept this, although some have expressed disquiet since the most holy period in a Muslim's week is between Thursday evening and Friday afternoon, when the congregational Jumaat prayer is held. The practice of having Sunday as the weekend holiday is a departure from traditional Islamic practices, dating to British colonial days when the British started bringing in non-Muslim immigrants into the country.
In May 2001, the government decided not to approve the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
Preparatory Committee’s application to register as a legal organization. This action is believed to be more related to the government's wish to improve relations with China rather than an attempt to undermine the Falun Gong
Falun Gong
Falun Gong is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 by its founder, Li Hongzhi, through public lectures. It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with the moral philosophy...
in favour of Islam. The government has not prevented Falun Gong members from carrying out their activities in public.
For Muslim children, religious education according to a government-approved curriculum is compulsory in public schools. There are no restrictions on homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
, although primary school is compulsory. However, private schools and colleges do have some legal requirements.
Several religious holidays are recognized as official holidays, including Hari Raya Puasa (Muslim), Hari Raya Haji
Eid ul-Adha
Eid al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice...
(Muslim), the Prophet's birthday (Muslim), Wesak Day (Buddhist), Deepavali (Hindu), Thaipusam
Thaipusam
Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated mostly by the Tamil community on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai . It is celebrated not only in countries where the Tamil community constitutes a majority, but also in countries where Tamil communities are smaller, such as Singapore and Malaysia...
(Hindu), Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
(Christian), and, in Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
(Christian).
Inter-faith efforts in Malaysia
In April 2002, the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) initiated an interfaith dialog aimed at promoting better understanding and respect among the country's different religious groups. Participants included representatives from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department, the Malaysian Ulama Association, and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS).In early 2005, much debate was stirred up by a proposed Inter-Faith Commission put forward by various individuals, some of which included academics and lawyers from the Bar Council.
The steering committee behind the proposal for a draft bill for the commission organised a national conference that saw about 200+ people from all religious backgrounds attending it. There they hashed out the framework for a commission that could advise the relevant parties on the many interfaith issues that arise in pluralistic Malaysia such as conversion from Islam to another faith, which is deemed as apostasy in Malaysia.
PAS, member of parliament Dzulkefly Ahmad
Dzulkefly Ahmad
Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad is a Malaysian politician and is currently the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Kuala Selangor constituency in Selangor...
, stated that he is against religious pluralism saying that it has,"relativised" truth claims,and says that Islam is the same has other religions. Dr.Ahmad went on to make a distinction between promoting relativism of religions and cooperation with people in a "multi-racial,multi-religious,multi-cultural, and multi-lingual" society, and that the latter was necessary to build a strong country.
After much coverage in the local newspapers, the draft bill was put on hold by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
, due to the controversy surrounding it.
Marriage and divorce
A non-Muslim person who wishes to marry a Muslim person must convert to Islam before the marriage can be recognised as legally valid. A marriage between two non-Muslims (civil law marriages), however, will not become void after one spouse subsequently converts to Islam.In 2006, T. Saravanan, a Muslim convert, sought to dissolve his marriage with his non-Muslim wife via the Syariah Court. His wife, R. Subashini, applied to Kuala Lumpur High Court for an injunction against her husband seeking divorce in the Syariah Court. The High Court dismissed her application. This was affirmed in the Court of Appeal, where the court also ordered Subashini to take her case to the Syariah Court. As of September, 2007, their case is pending in the Federal Court after an appeal by Subashini. Subashini is also seeking to stop or declare void the conversion of their children. As of 27 December 2007, R. Subashini failed in an attempt to stop her husband from divorcing her in an Islamic court. She also failed to persuade the federal court her husband should be banned from converting their four-year-old son to Islam. The appeal was rejected on a technicality but court added that she would be able to try again in a few months.
Voluntary conversion of minors
Conversion to other faiths is allowed in Malaysia once one has reached an age of majority. A minor may not convert to another faith without explicit permission of his or her guardian as described in the Guardianship of Infants Act (1961) and the Federal Constitution (Articles 11 (1) and 12 (3) and (4)).This case was tested by Teoh Eng Huat vs Kadhi mot of Pasir Mas Kelantan in 1986. Teoh Eng Huat's daughter was a ward of the state. She married a Muslim. Hence then a minor, converted to Islam. The high court ruled that the father's right to decide the religion and upbringing of the infant is allowed "subject to the condition that it does not conflict with the principles of the infant's choice of religion guaranteed to her under the Federal Constitution". Through the proceedings, Susie Teoh never appeared in court to testify.
The decision was overruled on appeal to the Supreme Court, who held "in all the circumstances and in the wider interests of the nation no infant shall have the automatic right to receive instruction relating to any other religion other than (her) own without the permission of the parent or guardian".
The Supreme Court further held that this was "only of academic interest" as Susie Teoh was no longer a minor at the time of hearing.
In response several states (Islamic laws are passed by individual states) passed laws providing for conversion by 15 (defined as "baligh" in Islam or the age of majority). Federal law still provides for the age of majority as 18.
Automatic conversion of minors following parental conversion
The state of Selangor passed a legal amendment in 1989 that if an adult converts to Islam, any infant children become converted at the same moment. This amendment was quietly removed by its non-inclusion in future amendments of the state bill.Conversion of minor by one parent
In the case of Chang Ah Mee v Jbt. Hal Ehwal Agama Islam (2003) heard in the Sabah High Court, the father converted to Islam and converted the child to Islam without consent or knowledge of the mother, Chang Ah Mee, on July 28, 1998. The mother gained custody of the child on Nov 13, 1998 and subsequently sued to declare the conversion void.The court determined that as a state court, it had jurisdiction over all state matters even those concerning Islam. Further, based upon the Federal Constitution (article 12), The Guardianship of Infants Ordinance (Sabah) 1999, The Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act, 1976 and The Administration of Islamic Law Enactment 1992 (Sabah) determined the conversion of a two year old child to be void.
In 2003, this issue became prominent again in the case of Shamala Sathiyaseelan v Dr. Jeyaganesh C. Mogarajah. In the first hearing before the High Court, Shamala Sathiyaseelan sought (1) to bring committal proceedings against the father of the infants for breach of the interim custody order of the High Court of April 17, 2003, and (2) to declare that she was not bound by any decisions, order or proceedings of the syariah court.
Earlier the High Court had granted custody to Shamala Sathiyaseelan with access for the father. He failed to return the children to her on May 25, 2003. Shamala and Jeyaganesh were married under Hindu rites registered under the jurisdiction of the Law Reform Act. The husband converted to Islam on Nov 19, 2002. On Nov 25, 2002 he converted the children without the mother's knowledge or consent. They were still not divorced at the time.
Without knowledge of Shamala he then obtained a custody order in the syariah court on Jan. 30, 2003.
The High Court ruled that the custody order issued by the syariah court "did not change the interim civil court order". They ruled that the syariah court order "is not binding on the plaintiff wife who is non-Muslim". The interim custody order of the High Court and proceedings were binding on the now Muslim husband as matters arising out of the Hindu marriage registered under the Law Reform Act. As his Hindu wife did not file for divorce, she remains "his unconverted wife" under this law.
On April 13, 2004 Shamala once again went to the high court. This time to seek an order that the conversion of the infants was void. As in Chang Ah Mee, she cited the Federal Constitution (Article 12), the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act, 1993.
The Guardianship of Infants Act for the Federal Territories differed from that of Sabah in one aspect as it used the term "parent or guardian" and not "both parents or a guardian" as in AMLE Sabah.
In this case the High Court ruled that only the consent of one parent is required in the conversion to Islam of a person below 18 in the Federal Territories.
Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution reads "For the purposes of cl. (3) the religion of a person under the age of eighteen years shall be decided by his parent or guardian."
The High Court interpreted the term parent to mean father. The equality of rights granted to both parents under the Guardianship of Infants Act, 1961 was held inapplicable on the Muslim father.
In its judgement the High Court held the fatwa or the Mufti of the Federal Territory as persuasive (legal term). The Mufti stated that the father had the right to unilaterally convert the infants to Islam.
Shamala once again went to the high court on July 20, 2004 to apply inter alia for custody, care and control of the infants. The court awarded it with access for the father. In its judgement, it stated that "the right of religious practice of the two infant children shall be exercised equally by both parents" based on the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961. This was in spite of the earlier ruling that this act does not apply to Jeyaganesh who was now a Muslim.
The court also held that the applicable law at the time of conversion was civil law. It even ruled that the infants were "still Hindus at the time of conversion" and that the father should have consulted the mother before converting the infants.
However the court explicitly cautioned the mother from "influencing the infants'
religious belief by teaching them her articles of faith or by making them eat pork" or she would risk losing her children. The rationale given was that the court "cannot run away from the fact that the two infant children are now muallaf" (converts to Islam).
As the case has gained prominence various religious organizations, human rights organizations and women's issues organizations have registered watching briefs. En. Haris Bin Mohamed Ibrahim has registered a watching brief on behalf of the Women's Aid Organisation, (WAO), All Women's Action Society (AWAM), Women's Center for Change, Penang (WCC) and Sisters In Islam (SIS). A. Kanesalingam, held watching brief for the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism (MCCBCHS). Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Bar Council are also holding watching briefs for this case.
The various organizations holding watching brief in this case now call themselves loosely Article 11 after the article of the Federal Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion.
Conversion from Islam
Muslims who wish to convert from Islam face severe obstacles. For Muslims, particularly ethnic Malays, the right to leave the Islamic faith and adhere to another religion is a controversial question. The legal process of conversion is also unclear; in practice it is very difficult for Muslims to change their religion legally.In 1999 the High Court ruled that secular courts have no jurisdiction to hear applications by Muslims to change religions. According to the ruling, the religious conversion of Muslims lies solely within the jurisdiction of Islamic courts.
The issue of Muslim apostasy
Apostasy in Islam
Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined in Islam as the rejection in word or deed of one's former religion by a person who was previously a follower of Islam...
is very sensitive. In 1998 after a controversial incident of attempted conversion, the Government stated that apostates (i.e., Muslims who wish to leave or have left Islam for another religion) would not face government punishment so long as they did not defame Islam after their conversion. However, whether the very act of conversion was an "insult to Islam" was not clarified at the time. The Government opposes what it considers deviant interpretations of Islam, maintaining that the "deviant" groups’ extreme views endanger national security. In 2005 international media attention focused on the Sky Kingdom
Sky Kingdom
Sky Kingdom is the name of the commune and sect founded by Ariffin Mohammed in Malaysia. The commune, based in Besut, Terengganu, was demolished by the government of Malaysia in August 2005. As of 2006, Ariffin Mohamed resides in exile in Narathiwat, Thailand, just over the border from Kelantan...
sect whose founder Ayah Pin claimed to be God, and whose members - mostly Malays - were accordingly charged with religious "deviancy" and "humiliating Islam."
In the past, the Government imposed restrictions on certain Islamic groups, primarily the small number of Shi'a. The Government continues to monitor the activities of the Shi'a minority.
In April 2000, the state of Perlis
Perlis
Perlis is the smallest state in Malaysia. It lies at the northern part of the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and has Satun and Songkhla Provinces of Thailand on its northern border. It is bordered by the state of Kedah to the south...
passed a sharia law subjecting Islamic "deviants" and apostates to 1 year of "rehabilitation" (under the Constitution, religion, including sharia law, is a state matter). Leaders of the opposition Islamic party, PAS, have stated the penalty for apostasy — after the apostates are given a period of time to repent and they do not repent — is death.
Many Muslims who have converted to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
and other religions lead "double lives", hiding their new faith from friends and family.
General interpretation about the freedom of religion as described in the constitution in Malaysia is that a person has a right to practice his or her religion freely. This freedom does not grant a person a right to change his or her religion "at a whim and fancy". For example a Muslim who wants to convert to another religion must get an explicit permission from a syariah court. The syariah courts rarely grant such requests, except in cases where a person has actually lived his or her whole adult life as a person of different religion, and only wants to change the official documents to reflect this fact. The Islamic interpretation of the situation is that only the syariah courts can decide who is a Muslim and who is not. A person does not have such freedom, and so cannot have a say in the judgement given in a syariah court.
The Lina Joy
Lina Joy
Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani in 1964 in Malaysia to Muslim parents of Javanese descent, she converted at age 26. In 1998, she was baptized, and applied to have her conversion legally recognized by the Malaysian courts...
case challenged this view of the situation by taking the problem of apostasy to the Federal Court in 2007. Lina Joy lost the case and was denied identification as a Christian on her identification card. This cleared the situation about the overlapping areas of jurisdiction between the Islamic and the secular courts in Malaysia.
Apostasy under state law
As Malaysia is a federation, certain matters, such as religion, are handled by state governments. There is subsequently some amount of divergence between different states in the treatment of converts from Islam.Statistics indicate that Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
has the largest number of converts, with 840 applications made to officially renounce Islam in 2005, 62 of which succeeded. An academic has suggested that this is because Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan
Negeri Sembilan, one of the 13 states that constitutes Malaysia, lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia, just south of Kuala Lumpur and borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the south....
is the only state which (officially) permits conversion. A convert must first apply to the Syariah Court for a declaration that he or she is no longer a Muslim; the convert will then be counseled for about a year by a Mufti
Mufti
A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...
. If, after this period, the convert still wants to convert, the judge may permit the application. This process is unique to the state; no other state allows Muslims to officially convert. In 2006, the Negeri Sembilan Court also permitted Wong Ah Kiu
Wong Ah Kiu
Wong Ah Kiu , legally known as Nyonya Binti Tahir, was a Malaysian woman born to a Muslim family but raised Buddhist...
, a convert from Islam to Buddhism legally known as Nyonya binti Tahir, to be buried in the Buddhist fashion, although her conversion had not been legally recognised while she was still alive. The case marked the first time non-Muslims had testified in a Syariah court in Malaysia.
In five states — Perak
Perak
Perak , one of the 13 states of Malaysia, is the second largest state in the Peninsular Malaysia bordering Kedah and Yala Province of Thailand to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, Selangor the Strait of Malacca to the south and west.Perak means silver in Malay...
, Malacca
Malacca
Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
, Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
, Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
, and Pahang
Pahang
Pahang is the third largest state in Malaysia, after Sarawak and Sabah, occupying the huge Pahang River river basin. It is bordered to the north by Kelantan, to the west by Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, to the south by Johor and to the east by Terengganu and the South China Sea.Its state...
— conversion is a criminal offense which can be punished by a fine or jail term. In Pahang, convicted converts may also be punished with up to six strokes of the cane.
Lina Joy
Lina Joy, who was born Azalina Jailani, converted from Islam to Christianity, arguing that it came under her right to freedom of religion under Article 11 of the Constitution of Malaysia. She first approached the National Registration Department (NRD) in February 1997, seeking permission to change her name to Lina Joy, and also her religious status. The application was rejected in August 1997 on the grounds that the Syariah Court had not granted permission for her to renounce Islam. In 1998, the NRD allowed the name change, but refused to change the religious status on her identity cardMyKad
MyKad is the compulsory identity document for Malaysian citizens aged 12 and above. Introduced by the National Registration Department of Malaysia on 5 September 2001 as one of four MSC Malaysia flagship applications and a replacement for the High Quality Identity Card , Malaysia became the first...
.
Joy appealed against this decision in the High Court, arguing that she should not be subject to sharia law, having converted to Christianity. In April 2001, Judge Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik ruled that she could not change her religious identity, because ethnic Malays are defined as Muslims under the Constitution. Joy then took her case to the Court of Appeal. On 19 September 2005, the court ruled in a 2-1 majority decision against Joy. Justice Abdul Aziz and Justice Arifin Zakaria agreed that the NRD was correct in rejecting Joy’s application and said it was up to the Syariah Court to settle the issue (Justice Gopal Sri Ram said it was null and void. ). Joy further appealed to the Federal Court of Malaysia, the highest court and the court of last resort in Malaysia. The Federal Court heard the appeal in July 2006, and it was presided by the Chief Justice of Malaysia
Chief Justice of Malaysia
The Chief Justice of Malaysia , also known as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court, is the office and title of the head of the Malaysian judiciary system. The title has been in use since 1994, and prior to this it was known as the Lord President of the Federal Court. The Chief Justice is the head...
Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim
Tun Ahmad Fairuz bin Sheikh Abdul Halim is the former Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Malaysia. A controversial figure, he held that position from 2003 to 2007. In August 2007, he courted controversy by suggesting the abolishment of English Common Law to be replaced by Islamic Syariah Law....
, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Richard Malanjum, and Federal Court Judge Alauddin Sheriff.
On May 30, 2007, the Federal Court, in a 2-1 decision, dismissed Joy's appeal. The Court's panel ruled that only the Syariah Court had the power to allow Joy to remove her religious designation of Islam from her national identity card. Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Federal Court judge Justice Alauddin Mohd Sheriff delivered the majority decision dismissing her appeal. Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Richard Malanjum dissented.
Revathi Massosai
Revathi Massosai is a Malaysian woman who was raised as a Hindu but her identity card designates her as a Muslim. She has declared her religion to be Hindu and has petitioned unsuccessfully to have the word "Islam" removed from her identity card. Massosai married a Hindu man, but her marriage is not recognized by the Malaysian government because of the religion issue. Massosai was incarcerated for six months in an Islamic re-education camp because of her attempts to renounce Islam in favor of the Hindu religion.Revathi was denied the guardianship of her new born baby and was not allowed to meet her Hindu husband.
Persecution
There have been a few high profile incidences and accounts of persecution of people from Muslim backgrounds attempting to convert from the Islamic faith. Some notable cases include:- Hilmy Mohd Noor
- Hilmy Mohd. Noor, in his book "Circumcised Heart", describes his experiences during his detention under the Internal Security ActInternal Security Act (Malaysia)The Internal Security Act 1960 is a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances...
of Malaysia in what he described as resulting from religious persecution by Malaysian authorities. In the book, he also mentioned incidences of lobbying by some Muslims in his place of employment; a multinational oil company; to get his job terminated.
- Nur'aishah Bokhari
- Nur'aishah Bokhari made a writ of habeas corpusHabeas corpusis a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
by statutory declaration claiming that she was detained involuntarily by her own family members for wanting to convert out of Islam before marrying her Roman Catholic boyfriend. She subsequently escaped and has since left the country.
- Abdullah or Jeffrey
- Jeffrey also known as Abdullah and Or Boon Hua, 36, made the application on the grounds that he had not practised the Islamic teachings since converting to the religion 14 years ago.
Proselytizing
Proselytizing of Muslims by members of other religions is not technically prohibited by federal law, even though Muslims may proselytize. It is however prohibited in 10 of the 13 states (i.e. excepting Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the Federal Territories) and can lead to lengthy jail sentences and many strokes of the rotan (whipping). Most Christian and a few other religious groups in Malaysia put a standard disclaimer on literature and advertisements stating "For non-Muslims only".Religious Materials
In 2002 the government banned the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in Malay (Alkitab) and in Iban (Bup Kudus). The Kudus uses the term "Allah Taala" for God. The ban has since been rescinded. Abdullah Badawi, when in office as Home Minister, claimed it was the work of an overzealous bureaucrat and he had the ban repealed personally.
Some states have laws that prohibit the use of Malay-language religious terms such as usage of the term "Allah" for God by Christians, but the authorities do not enforce them actively.
Distribution of other materials such as books or tapes translated into Bahasa Melayu (local Malay) or Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
is also discouraged. However, Malay-language Christian materials are available. Prior to the banning of the Bup Kudus in 2002, the distribution of Malay-language Christian materials faced few restrictions in East Malaysia.
Visas and other restrictions
In recent years, visas for foreign clergy no longer are restricted, and most visas were approved during the period covered by this report. Beginning in March 2000, representative non-Muslims were invited to sit on the immigration committee that approves such visa requests.Ahmadiyya persecution
In April 2009, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council of Malaysia issued a letter which forbade members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim CommunityAhmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
to offer Friday prayers at their central mosque with immediate effect. Moreover, its failure by the Ahmadis to comply with the terms of the order will result in imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine up to 3000 Malaysian ringgit
Ringgit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...
. A large notice has been place outside the mosque which states Qadiani Bukan Agama Islam which translates to Qadiani [Ahmadiyyat] is not an Islamic Religion.
Places of worship
The government generally respects non-Muslims' right of worship; however, state governments carefully control the building of non-Muslim places of worship and the allocation of land for non-Muslim cemeteries. Approvals for such permits sometimes are granted very slowly.The Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Society of Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
had been lobbying the state government for a permit to build a church in that city for more than 10 years. It was not until recently that the permit was finally granted. The church opened its doors on 10 September 2005.
The new pre-planned capital of Malaysia, Putrajaya
Putrajaya
Putrajaya is a planned city, located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur, that serves as the federal administrative centre of Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, due to the overcrowding and congestion in the Kuala Lumpur areas...
, features a grand mosque as a prominent feature of the planned community. On November 16, 2005, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam announced that the Malaysian government had generously allocated a parcel of land in Putrajaya to the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur for building a Catholic church-run community centre. The Putrajaya Catholic Church Building Committee was set up on October 3, 2005. According to the committee, "The architectural planning and design will conform to the Liturgical requirements complimenting the ambience of Putrajaya's lush greenery and landscape. We envisage the Putrajaya church to be a hallmark of the Catholic community in Malaysia and showcase the rich heritage of the Malaysian Catholics."
Destruction of Hindu Temples
Approximately nine percent of the population of Malaysia are IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
ns, of whom nearly 90 percent are practicing Hindus. Indian settlers came to Malaysia from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
After a violent conflict in Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
between Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s in March 1998, the government announced a nationwide review of unlicensed Hindu temples and shrines. However, implementation was not vigorous and the program was not a subject of public debate. In April 2006, local authorities demolished several Hindu temples to make way for developmental projects. Their excuse was that these temples were unlicensed and squatting on government land.
Between April to May 2006, several Hindu temples were demolished by city hall authorities in the country, accompanied by violence against Hindus. On April 21, 2006, the Malaimel Sri Selva Kaliamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur was reduced to rubble after the city hall sent in bulldozers.
The president of the Consumers Association of Subang
Subang
-Indonesia:*Subang, Indonesia, a city in West Java*Subang Regency, a regency of West Java*Subang, Subang, a subdistrict of Subang Regency-Malaysia:*Subang, Selangor, an affluent residential town in Selangor state...
and Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
in Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
had been helping to organise efforts to stop the local authorities in the Muslim dominated city of Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
from demolishing a 107-year-old Hindu temple. The growing Islamization in Malaysia is a cause for concern to many Malaysians who follow minority religions such as Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
.
On May 11, 2006, armed city hall officers from Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
forcefully demolished part of a 60-year-old suburban temple that serves more than 1,000 Hindus. The "Hindu Rights Action Force", a coalition of several NGO's, have protested these demolitions by lodging complaints with the Malaysian Prime Minister. Many Hindu advocacy groups have protested what they allege is a systematic plan of temple cleansing in Malaysia. The official reason given by the Malaysian government has been that the temples were built "illegally". However, several of the temples are centuries old.
According to a lawyer for the Hindu Rights Action Task Force, a Hindu temple
Hindu temple
A Mandir, Devalayam, Devasthanam, or a Hindu temple is a place of worship for followers of Hinduism...
is demolished in Malaysia once every three weeks.
Malaysian Muslims have also grown more anti-Hindu
Anti-Hindu
Anti-Hindu prejudice is a negative perception or religious intolerance against the practice and practitioners of Hinduism. Anti-Hindu sentiments have been expressed by Muslims in Pakistan, Bangladesh, leading to significant persecution of Hindus in those regions, such as the 1971 Bangladesh...
over the years. In response to the proposed construction of a temple in Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
, Muslims chopped off the head of a cow to protest, with leaders saying there would be blood if a temple was constructed in Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
.
Laws in the country, especially those concerning religious identity, are generally slanted towards compulsion into converting to Islam.
Azan
The first Islamic call to prayer or Azan (also spelt AdhanAdhan
The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear"....
), known as "subuh" (or dawn), occurs at around 5.30 AM with the exact time drifting throughout the year. Most Malaysian business start work at 9 AM. Many mosques amplify the early prayer call by way of loud speakers, and while in some cases only a few neighbouring homes are affected, some large mosques (for example the State Mosque of Selangor which has speakers on its minarets) have prayer calls which can be heard in a large surrounding area.
In 2004 the Bar Council of Malaysia journal "Infoline" carried an article which questioned the need for the Azan as it was disturbing to non-Muslims and not needful. The article was condemned because Azan is a religious requirement.
In December 2004, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim
Rais Yatim
Dato' Seri Utama Dr. Rais Yatim is the current Malaysian Information, Communications, and Culture Minister. His ministry is considered a new ministry formed from the merger of three separate ministries in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's smaller cabinet...
mentioned in an interview that the Azan may be disturbing. He stated "...the Muslim call for Subuh (dawn) prayer may disturb the sleep of non-Muslims but they have accepted this as a fundamental part of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. But how loud the volume of the PA
Public address
A public address system is an electronic amplification system with a mixer, amplifier and loudspeakers, used to reinforce a sound source, e.g., a person giving a speech, a DJ playing prerecorded music, and distributing the sound throughout a venue or building.Simple PA systems are often used in...
system in the mosque should be, is another matter."
Excessive noise however is common matter of uneasiness among some Malaysians because non-Muslims also often practise rituals that cause much discomfort to others (Muslims and non-Muslims alike). Among these are Chinese funeral processions that are often accompanied by drums and cymbals, and other rituals not exclusive to the Chinese.
A local daily, The Star reported that a proposal by Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw
Tan Seng Giaw
Tan Seng Giaw is a Malaysian politician from the Democratic Action Party. He was born on 26 May 1942 in Kota Baru, Kelantan. After attending Primary and High School in Kelantan and Penang respectively, he furthered his education at Plymouth College and Leeds University, England...
to regulate the Azan so that it will not be too loud or disturb non-Muslims caused a stir in the Dewan Rakyat
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...
. Muslim MPs accused him of being insensitive and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz blasted the DAP member for allegedly trying to destroy the multi-religious tolerance in the country.
Taxation
In Malaysia, there is a rebate in income taxIncome tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
for money paid to the government in form of "zakat
Zakat
Zakāt , one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is the giving of a fixed portion of one's wealth to charity, generally to the poor and needy.-History:Zakat, a practice initiated by Muhammed himself, has played an important role throughout Islamic history...
", or the obligatory alms Muslims must give to the poor. However, money paid to other causes in the name of other religions under similar circumstances is given only income tax relief, and such relief is given only if the particular beneficiary has obtained approved status from the Malaysian Government, which is difficult in practice. Money donated to such approved beneficiary is only deducted from the income on which the amount of tax is based, while zakat is deducted from the amount of tax itself. For example, suppose a person earning RM 50,000 owes a tax of RM 3,000 and donates RM 1,000 to zakat, the whole of the RM 1,000 is directly deducted from the RM 3,000, whereas donations to other approved beneficiary would permit only a deduction of the RM 1,000 against the RM 50,000. The former being a tax credit and the latter being a tax deduction.
Zakat (or tithe) monies, however, are paid by Muslims directly to official organisations run by state governments. Receipts are issued out and must be submitted to apply for tax relief.
The zakat organisations themselves are governed by specific Islamic rulings defining the categories of people who qualify to receive the alms as well as the amount to be paid out by Muslims based on their income.
In contrast, charities in Malaysia are run privately by voluntary organisations, collecting voluntary donations from the general public, not compulsory tithes - thus the difference in treatment by the government.
Additionally, income tax relief granted to companies for donation made to tax exempt charities is restricted to 5% of the agggregate income of the company. Not all non-Muslim charities are granted tax exempt status, it is only given to registered and approved charities, partly to prevent abuse. There are stringent requirements to gain this advantage. Having earned this advantage these charities are further disadvantage in that their prospective donors are discouraged from donating monies to these charities because the donors are given tax relief for up to 5% of their aggregate income only.
Inheritance under Sharia law
Upon the death of a Muslim, his or her estateEstate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
shall be distributed according to sharia law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
. This is called the Faraid or the Islamic law of Inheritance. A Muslim is allowed to make a will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
, called a wasiat, but only one-third of his estate shall be disposed of according to the will. Furthermore, the requirement under sharia law is that disposition according to wills shall not benefit any person opposed to Islam as a religion. This situation applies throughout Peninsula Malaysia and Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
. In Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, a Muslim testator may dispose one-third of his property to anyone he or she wishes.
Films
Movies which depict people considered prophets in Islam are generally censored or banned as the depiction of prophets is considered "haraamHaraam
Haraam is an Arabic term meaning "forbidden", or "sacred". In Islam it is used to refer to anything that is prohibited by the word of Allah in the Qur'an or the Hadith Qudsi. Haraam is the highest status of prohibition given to anything that would result in sin when a Muslim commits it...
" (not allowed) under Islam. One notable case was the banning of The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film and the first traditionally animated film produced and released by DreamWorks Animation. The film is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to his ultimate destiny to lead the...
when its producers would not accept censorship of the character Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
(Musa in Islam).
However, in a more recent case, The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
was allowed, after the intervention of the Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, under strict conditions restricting its viewership to Christians with sales of tickets being carried out by various churches and para-church organisations.
In 2004, Yasmin Ahmad's (herself a Malaysian Muslim) film Sepet
Sepet
Sepet is a 2004 Malaysian romantic comedy drama film set in Ipoh, Malaysia. Directed by Yasmin Ahmad, it tells a tale of a love that blooms between a Chinese boy and a Malay girl. Sepet is a Malay word which, in this context, refers to the 'slit eyes' of the Chinese.-Plot:19-year old Ah Loong is...
was rejected by censors who asked that scenes be removed. 10 scenes were objectionable. Among objectionable material queried in the movie was why the movie did not depict any attempt to convert Jason (the Chinese non-Muslim main character) to Islam after he had fallen in love with a Malay girl.
Print media
On December 10, 2007, Malaysian authorities banned the Malay-language section of a Catholic weekly newspaper, The Catholic HeraldThe Herald (Malaysian Catholic Weekly)
-Circulation:It has a circulation of 14,000 copies in Malaysia. It is printed in English, Malay, Tamil and Chinese, and meant for distribution to Malaysian Catholics.-Newspaper sections:*Cover News*Forum & Reflection*Home News*International News*Editorial...
due to its use of the word Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
, the name for God which Christians had used for hundreds of years in the country. Their reasoning is that the word Allah by Christians would confuse Malay Muslims. The Herald meanwhile, filed suit at the beginning of December following warnings that its permit could be revoked if it did not cease use of the word “Allah” in the Malay language section of its newspaper. Countering the Herald's suit, the Malaysian security authorities on December 30, warned its printing permit would not be renewed if it continued using the word "Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
," which the government continued to say can only be used by Muslims.
The Catholic Church began its challenge of the government gag order prohibiting it from using the word “Allah” in its Herald-The Catholic Weekly- through a judicial review. The government had earlier argued that the church’s application is frivolous and had urged the court to throw it out but Madam Justice Lau Bee Lan disagreed and allowed the application by the Titular Roman Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Murphy Pakiam, for leave to sue the government regarding the use of the word “Allah” to proceed. Three points that were raised in the lawsuit. The first is for the court to declare that the government’s action in prohibiting The Herald from using the word “Allah” is illegal and null and void. The second is for a court declaration that the Archbishop as publisher of The Herald is entitled to use the word “Allah” and lastly, that the court should declare that the word “Allah” is not exclusive to the religion of Islam.
Bibles and religious literature
- The SabahSabahSabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
EvangelicalEvangelicalismEvangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Church of BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
also took legal action after the authorities banned the import of ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
books containing the word AllahAllahAllah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
.
- In January 2008, children's Christian books with illustrations of prophets were confiscated from several bookstores around the country.
- In May 2008, Malaysian customs confiscated 3 Christian CDs with the words Allah written on them from a Christian Sarawakian lady, Jill Ireland Lawrence Bill. She is currently challenging the confiscation of the CDs in court.
- In March 2010, the Malaysian Home Ministry seized 30,000 Malay bibles from a port in Kuching, SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
.
Protests against religious freedom
On the 5th of November 2006, a group of Muslims gathered outside the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Silibin, in the town of Ipoh, Perak to protest an alleged conversion of Muslim Malays out of Islam. The allegation was spread via a text message that claimed the church would baptize a group of Muslim Malays. The message proved to be false as the church celebrated only a Holy Communion service for 110 Indian children. The message further alleged that a famous Malaysian sportsman Azhar MansorAzhar Mansor
Datuk Azhar Mansor is the first Malaysian to sail solo around the world.He made his trip in 1999, sailing the ship called Jalur Gemilang.His round the world trip, with stops, took 190 days, 6hours 57 minutes 2 seconds...
was leaving Islam to embrace Christianity. The police had traced the message to a lady who had met Harussani Zakaria, mufti of the state of Perak in a meeting. He has stated that the message was to remain within the confines of the meeting but had made no attempt to verify the authenticity of the message nor report it to the police as converting Muslims is illegal under Malaysian law. On 17 November, Azhar Mansor declared that he had not renounced Islam, and Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that there should now be an end to the speculation.
Church Attacks
The Metro Tabernacle, an Assemblies of GodAssemblies of God
The Assemblies of God , officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 140 autonomous but loosely-associated national groupings of churches which together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination...
church in Desa Melawati, Kuala Lumpur was set on fire on January 8, 2010. While in Malacca, black paint was splashed on the outer wall of the Malacca Baptist
Malaysia Baptist Convention
The Malaysia Baptist Convention is an association of Baptist churches in Malaysia. According to statistics provided by the Baptist World Alliance, 164 local congregations comprising 19,143 members are associated with the MBC ....
Church in Durian Daun.
Mosque/Prayer Halls (Surau) Attacks
There were also incidences of attacks being made onto Muslim places of worship. In January 2010, two separate prayer halls (surau) in Muar became targets of arson attacks. And as recent as August 2010, another prayer hall in Seremban was subjected to vandalism. The prayer hall was defaced by red paint and littered with alcohol bottles.External links
- Kumar, R. Surenthira (Apr. 13, 2006). Woman can appeal against NRD's refusal to remove 'Islam' on her NRIC. Malaysia TodayMalaysia TodayMalaysia Today is a popular Malaysian news blog. It is known for being critical of both the governing Barisan Nasional coalition and opposition parties such as the Democratic Action Party and Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Its founder and chief editor is Raja Petra Kamarudin, a former political detainee...
. - Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob, Asia Sentinel (27 April 2007) "Doing the Impossible: Quitting Islam in Malaysia"
- DALAM MAHKAMAH PERSEKUTUAN MALAYSIA(Malaysia government)
- Malaysia at the Crossroads
- List of Islamisation
- Oh God! Malaysian Christians barred from saying `Allah' by Venkatesan Vembu, Daily News & Analysis, 25 December 2007no
- INTERNAL SECURITY ACT FOR WAYWARD CHINESE CONVERTS