Freedom of religious expression in Malaysia

• Main Authors: Mohd Sani, Mohd Azizuddin, Abdul Hamed Shah, Dian Diana
• Format: Book Section
• Language: English
• Published: College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia. 2010
• Subjects: BL Religion
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/2510/1/Mohd_Azizuddin_Mohd_Sani_-_Freedom_of_Religious_Expression.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/2510/; http://icis.uum.edu.my/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

There are always debates about the role of religion in the today's modern world and how does it respond to the issues like freedom of religious, religious expression and hate speech, inter-faith dialogues, and war on terror led by the United States. Cultural sensitivities, especially concerning race and religion, are the main obstacles to the implementation of religious freedom in Malaysia. Great care is taken not to impinge on the religious sensitivities of various groups. Given the fact that Islam is the official religion, care is taken not to publish articles that cast a slur, intended or otherwise, on the religion or its adherents. All the media, including those operated by the opposition, follow this policy. Malays, by constitutional definition, are Muslims and with the inclusion of some aspects of Chinese, Indian, and tribal culture, and no media can carry articles that question the faith or ridicule it. Thus, religious expression has always been monitored by the government in order to protect the racial harmony in multiracial-multicultural society in Malaysia. This protection is covered in the constitution and it can clearly be seen in practice in certain issues such as religious expression in the press, blasphemy, religious authority, inter-faith commission, and dress codes. This paper will look into some important issues and explain how has the issue of religious expression been tackled by the government and society? Can religious expression harming the society? What is allowed and disallowed? All these questions will be answered in this paper in explaining the practice of religious expression in Malaysia.