Why malaysia is an islamic state

The founding fathers of our nation agreed on behalf of all racial communities that Malaysia would be a secular state and the Constitution was drawn up to reflect this social contract. The framers of the Constitution clearly conceived of Malaysia as a secular state in which freedom of religion for all citizens is guaranteed. While Article 3 of the Federal Constitution provides that Islam is the religion of the country, senior judges have in the past expressed the view and ruled after a review of Malaysia's constitutional history that Islam is the religion of the country primarily for ceremonial purposes.

Therefore the official position oflslam does not change the legal nature of Malaysia as a secular state. The Bar Council is of the view that the fact that some countries perceive Malaysia as an Islamic state, that Malaysia may qualify as one according to definitions by 'ulama' and the fact that the Prime Minister has made what is essentially a political statement that Malaysia is an Islamic state does not change the legal religious status of Malaysia as expressed by the Constitution.

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Constitutional provisions read in the light of the intention of the framers of the Constitution should not be diluted by citizens with political motives or religious leaders with an agenda.

The Rule of Law demands that the religious status of the country must be interpreted in accordance with the Constitution. The principles that drove all the races to unite and struggle for independence in must be honoured and preserved. The Bar Council reiterates that for the sake of national peace and harmony, the nation must continue to be governed by the Rule of Law.

Politicians, law—makers, organisations and individuals must respect and perpetuate that Rule. Dated this 2nd November Authorities have also identified between and people currently inside Malaysia who support the Islamic State. Analysts said the rising number of extremist suspects is surprising for a country that has been hailed as a leading U.

The reasons for the rise are unclear, and analysts differ about the drivers of extremism within Malaysia. The government also has launched countering violent extremism programs that focus on the dynamics of youth and terrorism.

In its annual country report on terrorism, the State Department in April praised Najib for founding the Global Movement of Moderates, a Kuala Lumpur-based organization that works against violent extremist ideologies and has more credibility than similar groups based in the West. Malaysia, which gained independence from Britain in , is a Muslim-majority country that is home to a large minority of ethnic Chinese, who make up roughly 20 percent of the population.

The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims. The immediate goal is to keep the courts from allowing Lina Joy or Kamariah Ali to convert. Attempts by other democratic civil society groups to debate this issue in peaceful public forums have been thwarted by threats of violence from a coalition of Muslim non-governmental organisations calling themselves BADAI the Malay acronym for Coalition against the Inter-Faith Commission.

Concerned about sparking an ethnic clash, the prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has proclaimed a ban on open discussion of these issues, threatening to arrest Internet news providers and activists if they continue to fan such debates. Badawi is right to be worried.

Since independence, national politics in Malaysia has reinforced group identity, especially among ethnic Malays, an exclusively Muslim community. Identity politics allowed ethnic Malays to assert their claims to control over land, language, and religion. All attempts to reduce Malay influence serve to mobilize this community - in both ethnic and religious terms.

Malay politicians have learned how to play this card very effectively. Ethnic Malays' special status has long been codified in affirmative action policies giving them special economic benefits. However, as Malaysia engages with the global economy, these privileges may eventually be removed in order to heighten the country's competitiveness.

As a result, many Malay-Muslims increasingly worry about the loss of familiar economic and political safeguards. And what about leaders who steal from the public and those who steal from Tabung Haji? Yet someone who steals pittance is thrown in jail for a long time without pardon.

Those with cables to pull will probably get a royal pardon even if they have stolen billions. In Malaysia we often conflate Islam, a set of ideology and rituals with race which is flesh and blood, because of the political contrivition that a Malay must be a Muslim; a definition of race unsupported anywhere else in the world. For this reason we assume All Malays are of one mind concerning Islam.

This is inherently false because each individual is unique and has different ideas even if on the surface they seem to conform. The conflation of race and religion makes it difficult to be critical of one without seeming to be critical of the other.

Among the Malays, any questioning of Islam however constructive, is seen as a betrayal of race and culture. The non-Muslims of course dare not question, however onerous the rules are because of the severe consequences which befall them. The religious authorities are aware of the rumblings beneath the apparent calm and conformity of Muslims in Malaysia — especially of the young.

They are worried by what they see. Many young Malays are no longer prepared to accept the concretised doctrines pushed by the government. Doctrines riddled with dogmas of another age. Selective doctrines which the authorities use as a convenient tool of control and hence will not allow to evolve. They insist on the infallibility of the Quran as interpreted by them — every letter, every punctuation to remain and to be obeyed.

Why is it that interfaith marriage between Muslims and Chrisitians and Jews is not allowed here when it is allowed in Indonesia and many other countries? By what Koranic rule do our religious authorities interpret interfaith marriage.