Malaysia--Christian Persecution in Malaysia

Religious Atmosphere: 

Sunni Islam is the predominant religion with large numbers of religious minorities. About 60% of the people are Muslim, 20% are Buddhist, 10% are Christian, 5% are Hindu and 5% practice other religions, including Taoism and indigenous belief systems. Most of the religious minorities are concentrated in the eastern part of the country.

Extremist Groups: 

Islamic fundamentalist groups exist.

Government:

• Islam is the official religion. 
        
• Article 11 of the Constitution gives citizens the right to freely profess, practice, and propagate their religion. However, this right is restricted in practice. 
         
• The construction of non-Muslim places of worship must be approved by the government while Muslim places of worship face no such restriction. 
        
• The sale and distribution of Malay language Bibles and other Christian materials are strongly discouraged. 
          
• Visas for foreign clergy of non-Muslim religions are severely restricted. 
          
• Apostates (those who convert from Islam to another religion) may be fined or imprisoned for a year of "rehabilitation."

Recent Actions:
  

• April 23, 2003 - The ban on the Iban Bible was lifted after an understanding was reached between the Acting Prime Minister and Christian leaders. The ban stemmed from the use of the word Allah Tala for God in the Iban translation. (WEA/VOM)
   
• April 2003 - Thirty-five Christian books, including the Iban translation of the Bible were banned, as they are considered detrimental to public peace. The majority of Ibans are Christians and thus will be greatly affected by the new ban, which makes the printing, sale, distribution and possession of any banned book punishable by up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of 20,000 ringgits. Other books on the list include translated versions of books by J.I. Packer and John Stott. English language versions are not on the list. (Barnabas Fund/ANS)
     
• July 2002 - Malaysian police have refused to enforce the Islamic justice system that Terengganu's state government had tried to enforce. The federal government ordered police to stay with the old laws.
  
• July 2002 - The PAS (the largest opposition party in Malaysia) is working hard to fully implement the Islamic Shari'ah law in Malaysia's Terengganu state. Christians and non-Muslims are afraid that under the harsh Shari'ah law their rights will eventually be taken away. It has been promised the laws will apply to Muslims only, however they have already been enforced on on-Muslims. Several moderate peace-keeping leaders in Malaysia have either stepped down or died, leaving a power vacuum open to more charismatic Muslim leaders. (BFS)
      
• May 23, 2002 - A French missionary was arrested on blasphemy charges after distributing a pamphlet on Koranic plagiary. Though he could have been sentenced to 2-5 years in jail for "acting in a manner which could lead to disharmony between Christians and Muslims," a judge ordered that he be deported. (Charisma)
     
• July 21, 2001 – The Marthoma Christian Community Center, in the city of Sungei Patani, was set on fire with damage estimated at 300,000 ringgits ($79,000).  Police told church authorities the Malaysian Militant Group (KMM, Kumpulan Militan Malaysia) were probably responsible. (Compass)
       
• April 24, 2001 – A Muslim convert to Christianity was denied permission to have her identity card changed to reflect her religious conversion. The woman, who has already changed her name from Azlina Jailani to Lina Joy, was told by a judge that she must take up the issue with the Islamic Sharia Court. According to a 1976 law, Lina will not be able to have a Christian wedding ceremony as long as Islam is the religion reflected on her identity card. As an apostate she also faces possible "rehabilitation" to convince her to re-embrace the Islamic faith.
            
• January 12, 2001 - A Christian retreat center operated by the New Testament Church in Bukit Markisa was raided by police. Though admitting that the church center was a legal settlement and did not pose a threat to national security, Inspector General Tan Sri Norian Mai, said the raid will actually help the church by putting an end to allegations against it. No evidence of criminal activity was found by police who broke into the center and forcibly entered residents' rooms. No one was arrested in the incident.

Prisoners: 

ICC is not aware of any Christians being imprisoned for their faith at this time.

Suggested Actions you might take:

• Pray for the Christians of Malaysia that they may be better protected from harm and harassment and that the Christian message may be heard and received by all.
        
• Write a respectful letter to one or more government officials at the address listed below. Request information about what steps the government is doing to ensure their protection and freedom to practice their faith laid out in the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights documents.
       
• Contact the elected national officials (Senators, Congressman etc.) for your area as well as the U.S. State Department and express concern for the well being of the Christians in Malaysia asking them to make an inquiry into the status
          
• Please keep us informed of any replies or results you may receive! Contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org.

Official Contacts:

 *Although we try to make every effort to keep up with and reflect changes in the government of Malaysia and the current human rights situation, it is.not uncommon for changes to occur and not be immediately updated in the profiles. We appreciate your feedback if you find any discrepancies in this information. You can contact ICC by email at icc@persecution.org for this purpose. Thanks.

POSTED:  May 8, 2003

ICC Articles on Malaysia: