Islam in Malaysia

Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi‘i school of Sunni jurisprudence. Islam was introduced to Malaysia by traders arriving from Persia, Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly established in the 15th century. In the Constitution of Malaysia, Islam is granted the status of "religion of the Federation" to symbolize its importance to Malaysian society, while defining Malaysia constitutionally as a secular state. Therefore, other religions can be practiced legally, though freedom of religion is still limited in Malaysia.
Malaysia is a country whose most professed religion is Islam. As of 2024, there were approximately 21 million Muslim adherents, or 65% of the population.
Various Islamic holidays such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and Mawlid have been declared national holidays alongside Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Deepavali.
The draft Constitution of Malaysia did not specify an official religion. This move was supported by the rulers of the nine Malay states, who felt that it was sufficient that Islam was the official religion of each of their individual states. However, Justice Hakim Abdul Hamid of the Reid Commission which drafted the constitution came out strongly in favour of making Islam the official religion, and as a result the final constitution named Islam as the official religion of Malaysia. All ethnic Malays are Muslim, as defined by Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia.
Nine of the Malaysian states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan have constitutional Malay monarchs (most of them styled as Sultans). These Malay rulers still maintain authority over religious affairs in states. The states of Penang, Malacca, Sarawak, and Sabah do not have any sultan, but the king (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) plays the role of head of Islam in each of those states as well as in each of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya.
On the occasion of Malaysia's first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman's 80th birthday, he stated in the edition of 9 February 1983 of the newspaper The Star that the "country has a multi-racial population with various beliefs. Malaysia must continue as a secular State with Islam as the official religion".
Four of Malaysia's states, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, are governed by Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), which is a conservative Islamic political party, with a proclaimed goal of establishing an Islamic state.
The newest format of the Malaysian identity card (MyKad) divides Malaysians into various religious groups, e.g., Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist. The introduction of this card caused a political uproar and remains controversial.
There is also an Islamic university in Malaysia called the International Islamic University Malaysia, and a government institution in charge of organising pilgrimages to Mecca called Tabung Haji (Pilgrim Fund Board of Malaysia). In addition, the government also funds the construction of mosques and suraus.
The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) was established under the Prime Minister's Department. Besides, every state also has its own version of JAKIM. Various Islamic rules and regulations governing the public and family life were codified into law that is compliant to Islam. Government policies have also be permissible in Islam, in other words 'halal'.
The National Fatwa Council was established by Conference of rulers to issue fatwas. It conducts two types of meetings, one was authorised by the Conference of Rulers, another called muzakarah (discourse) is held occasionally without the order of the Conference of Rulers.
Scholarly discussions on the first and early propogation of Islam in the Malay Peninsula have been inconclusive due to the paucity of documentary evidence. However, the main theory of the Islamization of the area comes either from the Indian Subcontinent (either Gujarat or South India) or the Arab-Persian lands and this most likely started in the 12th century.
However, the recent discovery of a Muslim tombstone in Pahang, which has been dated to 419 AH (1028 AD), suggests Islam's presence in the Malay world much earlier, however the majority of those inscriptions were about foreign Muslims. In the 19th century, the Terengganu Inscription Stone was found in Kuala Berang, Terengganu, highlighting the evidence of Islam in the Malay state, the stone is dated to either the year 1303 or 1383. Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah, previously known as Parameswara prior to his conversion, is the first Sultan of Melaka in the early 15th century. He converted to Islam after marrying a princess from Pasai, of present-day Indonesia.
The religion was adopted peacefully by the people of the coastal trading ports in modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, absorbing rather than conquering existing beliefs. Islam gradually spread from coastal ports to the hinterland, by the 17th century the majority of people in the Malay Peninsula had converted to Islam.
Contemporary Islam follows the Shafi‘ite school of Sunnism. Some Islamic terms, such as the word "Allah" (Arabic for "God"), are forbidden to non-Muslims both orally and in writing. The government ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims reversed the 2009 ruling of a court of first instance.
Until the 1970s, many Malay Muslims followed a liberal and moderate Islam, like Indonesian Muslims. At this time, a wave of Islamisation emerged (sparked by various social and ethnic conflicts, linked to the Al-Arqam parties and Islam Se-Malaysia), so that today, Malaysia lives in a more Islamic environment compared to the earlier years. Malays, who represent 50.4% of the total population, are almost all Muslims. About 70% of Malay Muslim women wear headscarves, but was marginal until the 1980s. The traditional Malay garment, of Islamic origin, is also worn by many Malays.
Article 3 (1) of the Malaysian Constitution provides:
Article 11 of the constitution provides:
Originally authorised for the country's independence in 1957, apostasy became illegal following an amendment to the country's constitution in 1988. The internationally reported attempt by Lina Joy to convert from Islam to Christianity is one of the most famous representations.
While this was not a problem during the colonial era, Muslims wishing to change their religion face severe deterrence. Before 1988, the question of freedom of religion and therefore of questions relating to the desire of citizens to change their religion was exclusively within the jurisdiction of secular courts. But since the law has changed, an amendment stipulates that secular courts no longer have the right to deal with claims by Muslims and that only Islamic Shariah courts have jurisdiction to discuss issues related to human rights. Apostasy is one of them and it follows that it is constitutionally legally impossible for a Muslim to change his belief.
Many Muslims who have changed their religion, whether it is conversion to Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism and other beliefs, are forced for their own safety to lead a double life. In some cases, denunciations of apostasy have already been reported as being reported to the authorities by family members or co-workers.
In February 2014, Edry Faizal, a coordinator in charge of the Democratic Action Party, claimed that it was inconsistent from a Quranic point of view to forbid Muslims from freely changing beliefs, but from his point of view was the best alternative that the power had found to preserve its Malaysian electorate and consequently to remain in power continuously.
In May 2014, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said during his speech about the future of the country that: "We will never tolerate any demand for the right to apostasy by Muslims, and we refuse that Muslims can have the right to be tried by courts other than sharia courts, and we will not allow Muslims to participate in LGBT activities". But he concluded that this was necessary because: "This is in line with our efforts to make Malaysia a modern, progressive Muslim country in order to achieve the status of a developed nation with a high income for 2020".
In recent years, more and more voices have been asked to try to determine the number of ethnic Malay people supposed to have left Islam. The government has remained silent on the question, believing that it is much too controversial to be debated. However estimates go from 135, according to Ridhuan Tee, a Muslim preacher, to 260,000, according to Harussani Zakaria, the mufti of the state of Perak. The latter highest estimate when put in the context of the 2010 population census would make them between 3 and 4% of the Malaysian majority. Nevertheless, no data estimating the number of Malay who converted to another religion was provided.
Nonetheless, these remarks later triggered a polemic often repeated in the media by Islamist and nationalist circles that recognising the right of the Malayans and the entire Muslim community to be free to choose their own beliefs would risk provoking a "Massive exodus of apostates" within the nation, the same slogan has also been listed on the official website of Islam in Malaysia. On 17 December 2015, Malaysian Police Chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar during a speech, alluded to this mysterious report: "I can not tell you how much this issue is potentially explosive. "
The state banishes and sanctions non-Muslim proselytism, but encourages conversions to Islam and remunerates them in order to facilitate the reduction of the non-Muslim population within the nation. Among the new rights provided to converts, if a man has children, he has the right to convert his children to Islam, without having to consider the approval of his wife.
In March 2015, unrest erupted in Miri, Sarawak, when a 13-year-old Dayak schoolgirl complained to the police, along with her parents, after being sequestrated at her school by two of her teachers who wanted to convert her to Islam by forcing her to recite Shahada. The latter then rewarded his conversion by donating 250 ringgit. In order to ease interfaith tensions, the two teachers were subsequently fired and transferred out of the state of Sarawak.
On 4 December 2015, Malaysian feminist and human rights activist, Shafiqah Othman Hamzah wrote, "What we are living in Malaysia is almost no different from apartheid. While segregation was racial in South Africa, in our country we live in religious segregation." She criticised some politicians and community leaders for leading to "a multi-racial and multi-religious country, but it is with a heavy heart that I say we are not in harmony."
On 9 February 2016, the Putrajaya Federal Court ruled on a scandal termed the "S Deepa Affair" dating back to 4 September 2013, involving forced conversions of children to Islam in a Hindu couple married since 2003. In this case, the father N. Viran converted to Islam in November 2012 under the name of Izwan Abdullah decided to impose his conversion to his two children, his son Mithran and his daughter Sharmila. Shortly after that, the children had their names changed to Nabil for the son and Nurul Nabila for the girl. Becoming the only person judged capable of raising them, he had obtained from the Shari'a court of Seremban their sole custody and through this the dissolution of his marriage.
Their marriage, which had been celebrated according to the Hindu rites and subsequently registered in the civil registers, was thus dissolved by the Shari'a court on the sole ground of the conversion to Islam by the husband, making it immediately obsolete. However, the Seremban High Court ruled that the annulment of the marriage was illegal and decided to return the custody of the children to the mother on 7 April 2014.
However, two days later Izwan kidnapped his son during a home visit by his ex-wife. Deepa quickly requested the High Court for police aid in getting her son back. Izwan decided to appeal the decision by the Seremban High Court and sought the help from the Shari'a court to assert his rights. The Court of Appeal rejected both appeals in December 2014. Child custody in February 2016 was finally divided by the Court of Appeal. The guard of the son was entrusted to the father, in this case, Izwan and the guard of the daughter to the mother, S Deepa. Asked by the media at the announcement of the verdict, she announced in tears: "This is injustice, I am upset. It was my last hope that the court would return my two children, but it was not so. Only my daughter was given to me."
Zheng He, a 14th and 15th century Chinese explorer, is credited to have settled Chinese Muslim communities in Palembang and along the shores of Java, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippines. These Muslims allegedly followed the Hanafi school in the Chinese language. This Chinese Muslim community was led by Yan Ying Yu, who urged his followers to assimilate and take local names.
The Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i school of thought is the official, legal form in Malaysia, although syncretist Islam with elements of Shamanism is still common in rural areas. Mosques are an ordinary scene throughout the country and azan (call to prayer) from minarets are heard five times a day. Government bodies and banking institutions are closed for two hours every Friday so Muslim workers can conduct Friday prayer in mosques. However, in certain states such as Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Johor, the weekends fall on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. It has been introduced to several states, notably Kelantan and Terengganu, all businesses close for 2 hours on every Friday for prayers. Failure to comply would result in fines.
Since it is compulsory for Muslims to perform a prayer 5 times a day no matter where they are, almost all public places, including shopping malls, hotels, condominiums, usually have allocated spaces called "Surau", for performing the Muslim prayers.
In 2017, it was reported that Wahhabism is spreading among Malaysia's elite, and that the traditional Islamic theology currently taught in Government schools is gradually being shifted to a view of theology derived from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia.
The Malaysian government has strict policies against other Islamic sects, including a complete ban on Shia Islam, allegedly to "avoid violence between the two faiths that has sometimes broken out in other parts of the world by promoting only the Sunni faith". Due to decades of Saudi funding, Shia Islam is openly and freely demonised and Shia Muslims are oppressed in the country, their prayers and gatherings are broken up, and the state secret service allegedly engages in Shia forced disappearances. Anti-Shi'ism reaches such an extent that the mainstream media often present Iran in a bad light while often glorying Saudi Arabia. For example, in 2019 Malaysian police raided multiple private functions commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala, arresting scores of foreign and local Shia Muslims. While the true numbers are not known, the number of Malaysian Shia Muslims is estimated at around 250,000.
A notable sect that has been outlawed is Al-Arqam.
Muslims who believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the fulfilment of the Islamic prophecies concerning the return of Jesus, the Ahmadiyya, are also present. There are approximately 2,000 Ahmadis in the country. Though small in number, they face state sanctioned persecution in Malaysia, as they do elsewhere in the Muslim world.
Muslims who reject the authority of Hadith, known as Quranists, Quraniyoon, or Ahl al-Quran, are also present in Malaysia. The most notable Malaysian Quranist is the scholar Kassim Ahmad.
Islam is central to and dominant in Malay culture. A significant number of words in the Malay vocabulary can trace their origins to Arabic which is the common language of Islamic prayer and rituals. This is, however, not exclusive and words from other cultures such as Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, Sanskrit, Tamil, English, and French can also be found in the Malay language. Islam is so ingrained in Malay life that Islamic rituals are practised as Malay culture. Muslim and Malays are interchangeable in many daily contexts.
Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Eid ul-Fitr) is an important festival celebrated by Malaysian Muslims.
Muslim women generally wear the tudung (hijab or headscarf) over their heads. However, Malay women not wearing any headgear are not reprimanded or penalised. Prominent Malaysian female examples are Rafidah Aziz, International Trade and Industry Minister and Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of then Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad. However, with the influx of Arabic travellers, foreign Muslim women (Arabs) wearing hijab that leave only their eyes exposed are often spotted in tourist attractions, not the least at the shopping malls. At certain Malaysian institutions such as the International Islamic University, wearing of the tudung is mandatory; however, for non-Muslim students this usually amounts to a loosely worn piece of cloth draped over the back of the head.
Some regard the tudung to be an indication of Arabic influence in Malay Muslim culture, and point to incidents such as the banning of the traditional Malay wayang kulit in the state of Kelantan (which was ruled by the Islamist PAS) to be "un-Islamic".
Malaysia's top Islamic body, the National Fatwa Council, ruled against Muslims practising yoga, saying it had elements of other religions that could corrupt Muslims. The same body has ruled against ghosts and other supernatural beings.
As defined by the Constitution of Malaysia, Malays must be Muslim, regardless of their ethnic heritage; otherwise, legally, they are not Malay. Consequently, apostate Malays would have to forfeit all their constitutional privileges, including their Bumiputra status, which entitles them to affirmative action in university admissions and discounts on purchases of vehicles or real estate. It is legally possible to become a Malay if a non-Malay citizen with a Malaysian parent converts to Islam and thus claims all the Bumiputra privileges granted by Article 153 of the Constitution and the New Economic Policy (NEP). However, the convert must "habitually speak the Malay language" and adhere to Malay culture. A tertiary textbook for Malaysian studies following the government-approved syllabus states: "This explains the fact that when a non-Malay embraces Islam, he is said to masuk Melayu ("become a Malay"). That person is automatically assumed to be fluent in the Malay language and to be living like a Malay as a result of his close association with the Malays".
Islam in Malaysia is thus closely associated with the Malay people, something some have criticised, for example saying that Malaysian Islam is "still clothed in communal garb; that Muslims in Malaysia have yet to understand what the universal spirit of Islam means in reality".
Parallel to the civil courts, there are Sharia courts which conduct legal matters related to Muslim family sphere. Legal issues like Muslim divorce and Muslim apostasy are conducted in the Syariah Courts. However, there are cases whereby apostasy cases are tried in the Federal Courts. Non-Muslims are not bound by Sharia.
Accusations of prosleytization have been used regularly by various Muslim politicians against Christians in order to court support from the Malays. There have been many instances of attacks on the Christian faith and they all point to political agendas by Malay-Muslim political parties. During the campaign for the 2022 Malaysian General Elections, Muhyiddin Yassin, the leader of Perikatan Nasional warned that his opponents were agents of a Jewish and Christian agenda out to colonize Malaysia.
As of 2013, most Muslim Malaysian women wear the tudung, a type of hijab. This use of the tudung was uncommon prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the places that had women in tudung tended to be rural areas. The usage of the tudung sharply increased after the 1970s, as religious conservatism among Malay people in both Malaysia and Singapore increased.
Several members of the Kelantan ulama in the 1960s believed the hijab was not mandatory. However, in 2015 the majority of Malaysian ulama believed this previous viewpoint was un-Islamic. The National Fatwa Council has issued a ruling against young Muslim women wearing trousers.
Norhayati Kaprawi directed a 2011 documentary about the use of tudung in Malaysia, Siapa Aku? ("Who am I?").
Despite the hijab, or tudung being non-mandatory in Malaysia, some government buildings enforce within their premises a dresscode which bans women, Muslim and non-Muslim, from entering while wearing "revealing clothes".
In 2014, the feminist Muslim organization Sisters in Islam was named in a fatwa by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council. They had previously supported Muslim women who attempted to compete in the Miss Malaysia pageant before four had to withdraw.
According to the 2020 census, 63.5% of its population (20,623,140 people) were Muslim. Malays are officially defined as Muslims by virtue Article 160 in the Federal Constitution. Census from the Malaysian state of Sabah may also show higher proportion of Muslims due to mass Islamicization programmes in the 1970s and early 1980s and high presence of Muslim immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines.