Religion in Malaysia

National mosque (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Kek Lok Si Temple (Penang, Malaysia)

Thaipusam (Thaipusam, Malaysia)

Malaysia is a multiconfessional society, with slightly more than half of its people being Muslims. The internal conflicts the nation has faced have generally been precipitated by ethnicity rather than religion. The country is officially a Muslim state, and the Government actively promotes the spread of Islam in the country and its friendship with other Muslim countries. Nevertheless, other religions are tolerated and the individual's right to the freedom of worship is listed in the country's constitution. The government also gives grants to religious bodies of other religions for building projects and other programs.

Religious distribution

Distribution of religious groups in Malaysia

All the worlds major religions have substantial representation in Malaysia. Islam is the largest and official religion of Malaysia, although Malaysia is a multi-religious society and the Malaysian constitution guarantees religious freedom. Despite the recognition of Islam as the state religion, the first 4 prime ministers have stressed that Malaysia could function as a secular state. According to the Population and Housing Census 2000 figures, approximately 60.4 percent of the population practised Islam; 19.2 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.3 percent Hinduism; and 2.6 percent practise Confucianism, Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions. The remainder was accounted for by other faiths, including animism, folk religion, and Sikhism while 0.9% either reported having no religion or did not provide any information. The separate religious communities have a generally tolerant relationship.

The majority of Malaysian Indians follow Hinduism (84.5%), with a significant minority identifying as Christians (7.7%), Muslims (3.8%), over 150,000 Sikhs, and 1,000 Jains. There are also a large number of Sikhs and Bahá'ís found in the country. There are around 100,000 Sikhs mainly Punjabis in Malaysia. Whereas, there are around 50,000 Baha'is of various races in Malaysia.

Most Malaysian Chinese follow a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and ancestor-worship but, when pressed to specify their religion, will identify themselves as Buddhists and will list themselves as such for bureaucratic purposes. Statistics from the 2000 Census indicate that 75.9% of Malaysia's ethnic Chinese identify as Buddhist, with significant numbers of adherents following Taoism (10.6%) and Christianity (9.6%), along with small Hui-Muslim populations in areas like Penang.

Christianity is the predominant religion of the non-Malay Bumiputra community (50.1%) with an additional 36.3% identifying as Muslims and 7.3% follow folk religion. The indigenous tribes of East Malaysia have mostly converted to Christianity. In addition to Christian missionaries from overseas, there are ongoing efforts by the government and NGOs to convert the animist communities to Islam, especially amongst the peninsular tribes who are not entitled to bumiputra status.

Holidays have been declared for holy days in numerous religions. Similarly, festivals are held for all major religions, which are participated in by those from all races.

Whether a religion obtains approval of the government is determined by the Registrar of Societies, part of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The government promotes interfaith dialogue, but believes the constitution provides a strong enough guarantee of religious freedom and should not be changed. Some restrictions are made on Malay texts from non islamic religions in Peninsula Malaysia, however there are much less restrictions in East Malaysia. Headscarves are mandatory for nonmuslims in certain situations.

Islam

Islam is thought to have been brought to Malaysia around the 13th century by Indian traders. Since then the religion has become the predominant religion of the country and is recognised as the state's official religion. The code of Islam official in Malaysia is Sunni, and opposes what it calles "Deviant Teaching". The Malaysian government promotes a moderate version of this("Islam Hadhari"). All ethnic Malays are considered Muslim by Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia. In practice, Muslims cannot convert to another religion. Those of Chinese, Indian, or other non-muslim origins are required to become Muslim if they marry a Muslim person. Public schools are required to offer Islamic religious instruction, although alternative ethics classes are provided for non-muslims.

Muslims are obliged to follow the decisions of Syariah courts in matters concerning their religion. The Islamic judges are expected to follow the Shafi`i legal school of Islam, which is the main madh'hab of Malaysia. The jurisdiction of Shariah courts is limited only to Muslims in matters such as marriage, inheritance, divorce, apostasy, religious conversion, and custody among others. No other criminal or civil offences are under the jurisdiction of the Shariah courts, which have a similar hierarchy to the Civil Courts. Despite being the supreme courts of the land, the Civil Courts (including the Federal Court) do not hear matters related to Islamic practices, as ratified by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the late 1980s. Regulation of sexual activities among the Muslim population is strict, with laws prohibiting unmarried couples from occupying a secluded area or a confined space, to prevent suspicion of acts considered islamically immoral.

See also

• Islam in Malaysia
• Buddhism in Malaysia
• Christianity in Malaysia
• Hinduism in Malaysia
• Sikhism in Malaysia
• Animism in Malaysia
• History of the Jews in Malaysia
• Datuk Keramat
• Status of religious freedom in Malaysia
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Malaysia