to: tariq, part 1, about malaysia and uae.

Submitted by dianamoon12 (United States), Dec 7, 2005 at 19:36

United Arab Emirates came into being in 1971, when the Trucial States, until that time a British protectorate in the lower Persian Gulf, became a loose confederation of sheikdoms.

Religion: Muslim 65.45%, Hindu 17.00%, Christian 9.25%, Buddhist 4.00%, Other 2.50%, non-Religious 1.30%, and Baha'i 0.50%. (Religious figures are estimates.) Islam is the state religion with a Sunni majority and a small Shi'a minority.

Ideological Influence: Islam

Head of State: President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan

Only foreign Christians have freedom to worship and witness. Christian education and witnessing to nationals are severely restricted. Few believers have opportunities to openly share their faith.

Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and was formed as a monarchy in 1963. There are two distinct parts of Malaysia: Peninsular (West) Malaysia and East Malaysia. Religion: Muslim 58.00%, Buddhist/Chinese 21.59%, Christian 9.21%, Hindu 5.00%, non-Religious/other 4.50%, Traditional ethnic 1.20%, Baha'i 0.40%, and Sikh 0.10%. Sunni Islam is the official and favored religion in Peninsular Malaysia, and there is continual pressure to apply the same in East Malaysia, where Islam is a minority.

Ideological Influence: Islam

Head of State: Prime Minister Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi

Malaysia's constitution guarantees religious freedom, but fundamentalist Muslims do everything in their power to inhibit Christian evangelism. Christian literature must be for non- Malays only. Ethnic Malays are not allowed to have a Christian place of worship. Government efforts to prevent the unauthorized use of religious terms have led to the banning of the Indonesian Bible and several other Christian books containing certain phrases common to Islam. Permission to build new churches is rarely granted, and house churches are strongly discouraged.

Don't even begin to tell me that Malaysia or the UAE are more tolerant than the U.S. Anyone is allowed to read, believe, and speak about whatever, and to whomever, they choose to in the U.S.

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".