Islam in Malaysia

Malaysia is a multiconfessional country whose most professed religion is Islam. As of 2013, there were approximately 19.5 million Muslim adherents, or 61.3% of the population.

Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi'i version of Sunni theology and jurisprudence. Islam was introduced by traders arriving from Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly established in the 15th century. The constitution grants freedom of religion and makes Malaysia an officially secular state, while establishing Islam as the "religion of the Federation" to symbolize its importance to Malaysian society. The king is generally seen as the defender of the faith in the country.

Various Islamic holidays such as Muhammad's birthday have been declared national holidays alongside Christmas, Chinese New Year and Deepavali.

The draft Constitution of Malaysia did not specify an official religion. This move was supported by the rulers of the nine Malay states, who felt that it was sufficient that Islam was the official religion of each of their individual states. However, Justice Hakim Abdul Hamid of the Reid Commission which drafted the constitution came out strongly in favour of making Islam the official religion, and as a result the final constitution named Islam as the official religion of Malaysia. All ethnic Malays are Muslim, as defined by Article 160 of the Constitution of Malaysia.

Nine of the Malaysian states, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Kedah, Perak, Perlis, Selangor, Johor and Negeri Sembilan have constitutional Malay monarchs (most of them styled as Sultans). These Malay rulers still maintain authority over religious affairs in states. The states of Penang, Malacca, Sarawak and Sabah do not have any sultan, but the king (Yang di-Pertuan Agong) plays the role of head of Islam in each of those states as well as in each of the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.

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