Aid to the Church in Need - Religious Freedom in the Majority Islamic Countries. In the ensuing exchange of fire, eight people were killed. In 1988 the government launched a strong offensive against the fundamentalists, arresting a hundred or so young Islamic militants. The Malaysian constitution guarantees religious liberty, but the fundamentalist movements are exerting powerful pressure at the political and social levels.
Proselytism is discouraged.
The Malay language Christian press faces many difficulties. Moreover, the Malaysians do not have the right to meet in places of Christian worship. The Indonesian Bible and other Christian religious books which contain terms common to Islam have been banned by the government. Only rarely are permits given to build churches. According to the Report on Religious Freedom of the US State Department, the Malaysian government permits but at the same time discourages conversions to religions other than Islam.