Malaysia: Religious intolerance rising in M'sia - US report

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"The government reportedly has a secret list of “sects” banned as “deviant” interpretations of Islam which included over 50 groups."

In April 2013, an entire congregation of an Ahmadiyya mosque was
arrested for holding Friday prayers.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Malaysia Chronicle
By Malaysia Chronicle | July 30, 2014

The United States has expressed concern over growing religious intolerance in Malaysia as Islamic sects are being persecuted in public and in secret, along with abstruse laws aimed at blocking those wishing to leave Islam.

In the recently released ‘International Religious Freedom Report 2013’ the US noted that observers continued to express concern that "the secular civil and criminal court system had ceded jurisdictional control to syariah courts, particularly in areas of family law involving disputes between Muslims and non-Muslims."

The report also raised alarm that the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), under the prime minister's purview, now had full power to determine what was proper Islamic teaching and hammer away at those who did not agree.

"The government reportedly has a secret list of “sects” banned as “deviant” interpretations of Islam which included over 50 groups," the report, submitted to the US congress, said.

It notes that among those publicly banned were Shia, Ahmadiyah and Al Arqam believers.

"Members of banned groups may not speak freely about their religious beliefs. The government may detain Muslims who deviate from accepted Sunni principles and subject them to mandatory “rehabilitation” in centers that teach and enforce government-approved Islamic practices," the report noted.

The report singled out Prime Minister’s Department minister Jamil Khir Baharom, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Kedah Chief Minister Mukhriz Mahathir as among government leaders who publicly backed and carried out the government's policy to weed out Shia and Al Arqam followers in the country.

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