Population
22 million
50% Malay
33% Chinese
9% Indian
Other
Capital City
Kuala Lumpur
Leadership
Head of State
King Tuanku Salehuddin
Abdul Aziz Shah ibni
al-Marhum
Hisamuddin Alam Shah
Prime Minister
Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
Religion
52% Muslim
17% Buddhist
12% Taoist
8% Christian
8% Hindu
2% tribal
Malaysian
Ambassador
to the
U.S.
No current diplomatic
relations
BIO
Though predominantly Muslim, Malaysia enjoys a variety of minority faiths, adding to its cultural
mix. However, just as in many other Muslim countries,
extremist groups have emerged to create problems for
Christians, this time as a reaction to the US's attacks on
Afghanistan.
The
primary targets have been churches, with a number
of incidents of burning and bombing cited
since Sept. 11,
2001. Police believe members of the
Malaysian
Mujahideen Group (Kumpulan Militan
Malaysia) are
responsible for at least some of the
incidents. Violence is
nothing new to the KMM, whose members were
report-
edly trained in Afghanistan. They have been
previously
accused of a series of crimes, including
the bombing of a
church and a Hindu temple.
Many militant Islamic groups are linking up with
separ-
atists
in
the south of the country. It is believed that militant
Islam in
Malaysia is influenced by extremist groups in
surrounding nations such as Indonesia’s Laskar Jihad.
the Philippines. Using religion to ignite hatred, the growing Islamic militants could potentially destabilize
the whole region.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has previously warned of a network of extremists in the region that is
bent on establishing a union of Islamic governments in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Islam is the state religion, with all Malays legally considered Muslim. The Federal government follows a
policy of religious tolerance, but in practice, other faiths are increasingly discriminated against at state
level following the rise of Islamism in Malaysia. Legal restrictions exist prohibiting propagation of other
faiths among the Muslim community whereas Muslim missionaries receive state support to spread Islam.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism has highlighted the
discrimination non-Muslim faiths face, such as difficulties in obtaining permission to build places of worship,
restrictions on sharing their faiths and unequal access to media outlets.
At the same time Islamists continue to lobby the government to adopt stricter punishments for apostasy
and to implement Sharia Law throughout the country.
The Christian community is concerned that these types of attacks combined with the proposed legal
changes could encourage and propagate greater incidents of violence and the eventual loss of religious
freedoms.