Islam in Malaysia

Malaysia is a multiracial country with a population that currently stands at 33 million, of which approximately 63 percent are Muslims. Islam is constitutionally the country’s official religion, with the freedom to practice other religions. The Shariah Law in Malaysia is only applicable to Muslims and is used to resolve conflicts relating to creed and family matters.

Source : The Star | 19 Apr 2014

Malaysia and Turkey signed a free trade agreement that will boost bilateral trade and diplomatic ties between the two countries. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed and Turkish Economic Minister Nihat Zekbejci signed the Free Trade Agreement between the two nations here this Thursday.

Source : Reuters / 07 Mar 2014

Human traffickers have kept hundreds of Rohingya Muslims captive in houses in northern Malaysia, beating them, depriving them of food, and demanding a ransom from their families, according to detailed accounts by the victims.

Source : Bloomberg / 05 Mar 2014

Smoke from forest and peat-soil fires drove air quality to unhealthy levels in and around Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur yesterday, adding to the burden of water rationing after a month-long drought.

Source : Arab News.com / 1 Feb 2014

More than 73,000 Saudis visited Malaysia between January and September 2013, according to Ahmad Al-Jahsyi, overseas director and tourism consul of Tourism Malaysia for Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the Levant and North Africa.

Source Reuters / 27 Mar 2013

Malaysian leader Najib Razak has warned that nascent reforms can't be done "overnight" and that Southeast Asia's third-largest economy risks slipping backwards if he does not win a strong majority in an election he must call within weeks.

Prime minister Najib said a reduced parliamentary majority could weaken his drive to curb Malaysia's budget deficit and raise investment, and even cost him his job.

Source : News-republic.com / 14 Mar 2013

The international tourism industry is gradually awakening to an emerging travel market that is twice the size of China’s, and bigger than that of the US — affluent Muslim holidaymakers with money to spend.

At the world’s largest travel trade show, which wrapped up in Germany over the weekend, attendees at ITB Berlin heard that Muslim holidaymakers spend more than $126 billion USD annually on tourism — and that the numbers are rising.

By AFP | 16 Jan 2013

Malaysia has been rated the world’s top Muslim-friendly holiday destination in a survey released Wednesday that listed Egypt, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Singapore as runners-up.

The study by Singapore-based Muslim travel consultancy Crescentrating ranked countries on how well they cater to the growing number of Muslim holidaymakers seeking halal - or Islam-compliant - food and services.

By Al Arabiya | 28 Dec 2012

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, PAS, has responded to a re-ignited debate surrounding the use of the Arabic word for God, ‘’Allah’’, as Christian groups claim the right to use the term in their own religious scripts.

The Islamist political party has defended its exclusive right to use the word “Allah”. They suggest that non-Islamic minority groups could use the Malay word for God “Tuhan” in their Malay-language Bible, PAS newspaper Harakahdaily reported on Thursday.