Irreligion in Malaysia

Last updated

Malaysia, a primarily Muslim country located in peninsular and insular regions of Southeast Asia, has a government heavily influenced by Islamic law, which expresses anti-heretical and anti-atheist views. Notably, in 2017, the official Shahidan Kassim faced backlash for threatening to "hunt down" atheists in response to a meeting of members of Atheist Republic.

Contents

Demographics

Based on government data, the Malaysian website Malaysiakini estimates a community of no more than 300,000 irreligious people in a population of 30 million. As censuses only allow participants to name Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and traditional Chinese religions as their faith, irreligious Malaysians end up with Sikhs (around 350,000) in the 2.1% who do not list any of the above. The remaining 300,000 could include atheists, animists, practitioners of folk religion, and other belief systems. However, it is possible that there are more in reality, and that these low numbers were caused by bias among census authorities or fear of repercussion toward participants. [1]

Official status

Blasphemy is a crime in Malaysia, although technically, atheism is not. Apostasy is also not a federal crime, however, the nation's state-run courts do not typically allow Muslims to officially leave the religion, and they can receive counseling, fines, or jail time. [2] Ethnic Malays are also legally required to identify as Muslim, and the law codes of Sharia are "developed and implemented at the state level", according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. [3] In 2016, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who was disgraced by corruption, denounced atheism, secularism, liberalism, and humanism as threats to "Islam and the state". He also stated that "we will not tolerate any demands or right to apostasy by Muslims". [2] In response to an August 2017 meeting in Kuala Lumpur of members of the Malaysian chapter of the Canadian organization Atheist Republic, government official Shahidan Kassim declared that atheists would be "hunted down", attributing their beliefs to a lack of religious education. The Malaysian government started a crackdown not long afterwards to find if Muslims had any role in the incident. This response was criticized by both the founder of Atheist Republic, Armin Navabi, as well as some Malaysian Muslims. [4] [5]

Muslim views

The fear of such things occurring to Malaysian atheists is compounded by incidents of similar violence in Bangladesh, where atheist bloggers have been killed by extremists. [6] The Diplomat writer David Hutt claimed that he knew pro-democracy activists from Vietnam who were less hesitant to publicly criticize the Communist Party than atheist Malaysians to simply talk about religion in coffee shops. [2]

While Malaysia is often considered a secular state, the views of its population do not always reflect this, and it may be growing more conservative. A PEW survey asking if Sharia should become the basis of national law saw 86% of Muslim respond in favor. This is a higher positive response rate than in some other Islamic-majority countries that are typically considered more conservative. [2]

While a conservative nation, Malaysia's Muslim citizens do not necessarily reject scientific principles. Many view science as compatible with Islam, and 54% said that there was not any conflict between science and religion. Still, some objected to experiments involving non- halal substances, in vitro fertilization, and cloning. [7]

Related Research Articles

The Constitution of Malaysia establishes a right to freedom of religion in Article 11. However, Islam is also established as the state religion of the country in article 3, and article 11 provides for legal restrictions on proselytizing to Muslims. According to Freedom House, the country was scored 1 out of 4 for freedom of religion, with 0 being the worst and 4 being the best, in 2023. Muslims themselves are subject to state enforcement of religious practices; they can be fined by the state for not fasting or praying, may be prohibited from converting, and only Muslims are considered to be ethnically Malay. Other religious communities are a large fraction of the population, while individuals with no religious affiliation are much rarer and can be viewed with hostility.

Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. It includes not only explicit renunciations of the Islamic faith by converting to another religion or abandoning religion, but also blasphemy or heresy by those who consider themselves Muslims, through any action or utterance which implies unbelief, including those who deny a "fundamental tenet or creed" of Islam. An apostate from Islam is known as a murtadd (مرتدّ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion in Egypt</span>

Religion in Egypt controls many aspects of social life and is endorsed by law. The state religion of Egypt is Islam, although estimates vary greatly in the absence of official statistics. Since the 2006 census, religion has been excluded, and thus available statistics are estimates made by religious and non-governmental agencies. The country is majority Sunni Muslim, with the next largest religious group being Coptic Orthodox Christians. The exact numbers are subject to controversy, with Christians alleging that they have been systemically under-counted in existing censuses.

Some movements or sects within traditionally monotheistic or polytheistic religions recognize that it is possible to practice religious faith, spirituality and adherence to tenets without a belief in deities. People with what would be considered religious or spiritual belief in a supernatural controlling power are defined by some as adherents to a religion; the argument that atheism is a religion has been described as a contradiction in terms.

Discrimination against atheists, sometimes called atheophobia, atheistophobia, or anti-atheism, both at present and historically, includes persecution of and discrimination against people who are identified as atheists. Discrimination against atheists may be manifested by negative attitudes, prejudice, hostility, hatred, fear, or intolerance towards atheists and atheism or even the complete denial of atheists' existence. It is often expressed in distrust regardless of its manifestation. Perceived atheist prevalence seems to be correlated with reduction in prejudice. There is global prevalence of mistrust in moral perceptions of atheists found in even secular countries and among atheists.

Afghanistan uses Sharia as its justification for punishing blasphemy. The punishments are among the harshest in the world. Afghanistan uses its law against blasphemy to persecute religious minorities, apostasy, dissenters, academics, and journalists.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria operates two court systems. Both systems can punish blasphemy. The Constitution provides a customary (irreligious) system and a system that incorporates Sharia. The customary system prohibits blasphemy by section 204 of Nigeria's Criminal Code.

Malaysia curbs blasphemy and any insult to religion or to the religious by rigorous control of what people in that country can say or do. Government-funded schools teach young Muslims the principles of Sunni Islam, and instruct young non-Muslims on morals. The government informs the citizenry on proper behavior and attitudes, and ensures that Muslim civil servants take courses in Sunni Islam. The government ensures that the broadcasting and publishing media do not create disharmony or disobedience. If someone blasphemes or otherwise engages in deviant behavior, Malaysia punishes such transgression with Sharia or through legislation such as the Penal Code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shahidan Kassim</span> Malaysian politician

Shahidan bin Kassim is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Arau from August 1986 to April 1995 and again since May 2013. He served as the Minister of Federal Territories in the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration under former Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob from August 2021 to the collapse of the BN administration in November 2022, President of the Kuala Lumpur City F.C. from August 2022 to June 2023, Chairman of the Perbadanan Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia (PR1MA) from March to November 2021, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in the BN administration under former Prime Minister Najib Razak from May 2013 to May 2018, 7th Menteri Besar of Perlis from May 1995 to March 2008 and Member of the Perlis State Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Tambun Tulang from April 1995 to May 2013. He is a Member of Central Working Committee of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), a component party of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition and was a member of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), a component party of the BN coalition. He served as the Chairman of the PN Government Backbenchers Club (PNBBC) from May 2020 to the collapse of the PN government in August 2021. He is also the longest serving Menteri Besar of Perlis and the older brother of Ismail Kassim, former MP for Arau and former MLA for Tambun Tulang.

The use of politically and religiously-motivated violence in Islam dates back to its early history. Islam has its origins in the behavior, sayings, and rulings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and the first caliphs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries CE. Mainstream Islamic law stipulates detailed regulations for the use of violence, including corporal and capital punishment, as well as regulations on how, when, and whom to wage war against.

Irreligion is present among a minority of mainly old people in Pakistan. Atheists in Pakistan face discrimination, persecution, and prejudice in society. Pakistan is reported by some sources to be among the thirteen countries where atheism can attract capital punishment, but according to the Library of Congress of the United States, "there is no specific statutory law that criminalizes apostasy in Pakistan." On the other hand, the Pakistani government can impose the death penalty for blasphemy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Egypt</span> Lack of religious belief or religion by some of Egypts population

Irreligion in Egypt is controversial due to the prominence of conservative social traditions and the persecution by the religious institutions in the country. It is difficult to quantify the number of atheists or agnostics in Egypt, as the stigma attached to being one makes it hard for irreligious Egyptians to publicly profess their views and beliefs.

Irreligion in Iran has a long historical background, but is difficult to measure, as those who profess atheism are at risk of arbitrary detention, torture, and the death penalty. Non-religious citizens are officially unrecognized by the Iranian government. In the official 2011 census, 265,899 persons did not state any religion. Between 2017 and 2022, the World Values Survey found that 1.3% of Iranians identified as atheists, and a further 14.3% as not religious. In the 1999-2004 cycle, the WVS had found 1% identified as atheist and 3% as not religious.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Nigeria</span>

Irreligion in Nigeria was measured at four percent of the population in 2012, with convinced atheists at one percent. As in many parts of Africa, there is a great amount of stigma attached to being an atheist in addition to institutionalized discrimination that leads to treatment as "second-class citizens."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irreligion in Afghanistan</span>

According to a study by Humanists International (HI), Afghanistan is one of the seven countries in the world where being an atheist or a convert can lead to a death sentence. According to the 2012 WIN-Gallup Global Index of Religion and Atheism report, Afghanistan ranks among the countries where people are least likely to admit to being an atheist.

Irreligion in the Middle East is the lack of religion in the Middle East. Though atheists in the Middle East are rarely public about their lack of belief, as they are persecuted in many countries where they are classified as terrorists, there are some atheist organizations in the Middle East. Islam dominates public and private life in most Middle Eastern countries. Nonetheless, there reside small numbers of irreligious individuals within those countries who often face serious formal and, in some cases, informal legal and social consequences.

Capital punishment for offenses is allowed by law in some countries. Such offenses include adultery, apostasy, blasphemy, corruption, drug trafficking, espionage, fraud, homosexuality and sodomy not involving force, perjury causing execution of an innocent person, prostitution, sorcery and witchcraft, theft, treason and espionage. In addition to civilian treason and espionage, often considered capital crimes against the state where the death penalty is retained, military laws frequently ordain execution for serious offences, including in jurisdictions where capital punishment is illegal or obsolete under civilian law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armin Navabi</span> Iranian-born ex-Muslim atheist and secular activist

Armin Navabi is an Iranian-Canadian ex-Muslim atheist, author and podcaster, currently living in Vancouver, Canada. In 2012, he founded the online freethought community Atheist Republic, a Canada-based non-profit organisation which now has hundreds of branches called "consulates" in several countries around the world such as Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, enabling non-believers to interact in societies where irreligion, apostasy, and blasphemy are often criminalised and repressed. As an author, he debuted with the book Why There Is No God (2014), and in 2017 he became a co-host of the Secular Jihadists from the Middle East podcast with Ali A. Rizvi, Yasmine Mohammad and Faisal Saeed Al Mutar. In January 2018, the show was renamed Secular Jihadists for a Muslim Enlightenment, with Rizvi and Navabi as co-hosts.

Ex-Muslims are individuals who were raised as Muslims or converted to Islam and later chose to leave the religion. These individuals may encounter challenges related to the conditions and history of Islam, Islamic culture and jurisprudence, as well as local Muslim culture. In response, ex-Muslims have formed literary and social movements, as well as mutual support networks and organizations, to address the difficulties associated with leaving Islam and to raise awareness of human rights issues they may face.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostasy in Islam by country</span> Statistics of people leaving Islam by country

The situation for apostates from Islam varies markedly between Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority regions. In Muslim-minority countries, "any violence against those who abandon Islam is already illegal". But in some Muslim-majority countries, religious violence is "institutionalised", and "hundreds and thousands of closet apostates" live in fear of violence and are compelled to live lives of "extreme duplicity and mental stress."

References

  1. ↑ Ghee, Lim Teck (13 July 2016). "Are Malaysia's atheists an endangered species or quietly burgeoning?". Malaysiakini . Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hutt, David. "Beware the War Against ASEAN's Atheists". The Diplomat . Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Greenwalt, Patrick. "Blasphemy and Related Laws in ASEAN Member Countries" (PDF). USCIRF . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  4. ↑ Sherman, Ray. "Malaysian Minister Criticized for Urging Authorities to 'Hunt Down' Atheists". Benar News . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  5. ↑ Sukumaran, Tashny (13 August 2017). "Atheists: latest whipping boys in Malaysian politics?". South China Morning Post .
  6. ↑ Higginbottom, Justin. "Intolerance Rising: Atheists at Risk in Malaysia". The Diplomat . Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "On the Intersection of Science and Religion". Pew Research Center . 26 August 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.