Malaysia Is Not an Islamic State

There is no specific definition regarding what is Islamic state and there is also no consensus about the true meaning of Islamic state. Most of the scholars said that a true Islamic state can be formed when the state are using the Islamic system as the main basis in their system. However, there are other several reasons can be used in order to determine whether the state can be considered as an Islamic state or not. Our country, Malaysia cannot be considered and affirmed as an Islamic state due to several reasons which are not all the residents are Muslim, freedom of religion are not fully applied, and Islamic sources law are not being used in our system. Professor Ahmad Ibrahim states that our former Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman also said that our country is not an Islamic State because Islam shall only be the official religion of the State.

The first reason why Malaysia cannot be considered as an Islamic state is because not all the residents in our country are Muslim. One of the characteristics of an Islamic state is all the residents should be a Muslim. However, Malaysia does not fulfil this first requirement. Tunku Abdul Rahman states that Malaysia cannot practise Islam in a wholly ways because half of the population are not Muslim and they don't want Islam as they have different culture and ways of life. When this situation is happening in our country, then how come Malaysia can be considered as an Islamic state. Besides, it is also explained in Article 11 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia. Clause 1 of this article stated that every person has the right to profess and practice his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it. In that article, it also said that every religious group has the right to manage its own religious affairs, to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes and to acquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with law. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought,