ICC NOTE: Malaysia is a Muslim majority country in southeast Asia which has been rather tolerant of religious minorities in the past. However, recently there has been a shift in Islamic doctrine as the more conservative Wahhabi doctrine originating in Saudi Arabia has begun to take root. The spread of Wahhabism in Malaysia likely has been caused from Saudi businessmen traveling, but what follows are similar practices performed in Saudi Arabia. Already there are areas where genders have been separated in public areas and have launched the first Sharia compliant airline. It will be something to watch in the future as to whether the Malaysian people embrace Wahhabism or denounce its stricter law. Those who will be directly affected if it were to gain strength is in fact religious minorities including the Christian minority. 

1/14/2016 Kuala Lumpur (Wall Street Journal) – Kelana Indra Sakti is one of Malaysia’s most successful shamans. Framed testimonials from his customers hang from his office walls. In the driveway of his house he keeps a stretch Mercedes-Benz limousine given to him by a grateful client. His name, meaning “Adventurer, Heavenly Magic,” was bestowed on him by one of Malaysia’s wealthy sultans.

Lately, though, Mr. Kelana has supplemented his consultations with readings from the Quran.

“People just expect it these days, so I do it,” said the 70-year-old shaman.

Islam in Malaysia, and Southeast Asia, is taking a more conservative turn. The Muslim faith, brought here by Arab traders hundreds of years ago, has coexisted for generations with Malay customs such as shamanism, other forms of traditional medicine and the country’s sizable Buddhist, Christian and Hindu communities.

But more recently, conservative Wahhabi doctrines, often spread by Saudi-financed imams, are redefining the way Islam is practiced and, for some, eroding the tolerance for which the country has been known.

Signs of change abound, from the Arab-inspired architecture of Malaysia’s administrative capital to the more widespread application of Shariah, the Islamic law code largely based on the Quran.

In the northeastern state of Kelantan, one of the most conservative parts of the country, lines in supermarkets are separated by gender, and men are banned from watching women’s netball tournaments. In December, Malaysia’s first Shariah-compliant airline began flying. The airline guarantees pork-free meals and bans alcohol, in line with Islamic teaching, and its flight attendants are required to cover their heads with the hijab.

Politicians, meanwhile, are now competing with each other to show off their Islamist credentials. The opposition Pan-Islamic Party strict adherence to Shariah has helped build its support in rural areas. And a government investment fund—under the control of the Muslim-oriented ruling party—was recently set up to pay for village leaders to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

The government’s recently established Department of Islamic Development of Malaysia writes sermons delivered in mosques nationwide each Friday, according to Malaysian analyst James Chin of the University of Tasmania.

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