The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution provides significant legal protections for religious freedom. Article 11 (1) guarantees the right to profess and practice one's religious beliefs freely, except for restrictions on propagation among Muslims under the federal and state laws (Article 11(4))....

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Main Authors: Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, Wan Naim Wan Mansor, Azril Mohd Amin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2023
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/1/S%206.pdf
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author Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil,
Wan Naim Wan Mansor,
Azril Mohd Amin,
author_facet Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil,
Wan Naim Wan Mansor,
Azril Mohd Amin,
author_sort Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution provides significant legal protections for religious freedom. Article 11 (1) guarantees the right to profess and practice one's religious beliefs freely, except for restrictions on propagation among Muslims under the federal and state laws (Article 11(4)). Furthermore, according to Article 3 (1), Islam holds a special position in the country. The Malaysian legal system consists of the civil laws and the Syariah laws with two court systems, (example, the Syariah courts and the civil courts). While the former serves as an essential institution for Muslims and maintain the Islamic identity of the nation, issues of jurisdiction have become a subject of contention, particularly in interfaith cases. This study explores an overview of Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on religious freedom and analyses jurisdictional conflicts through interviews with the national legal experts. After carefully considering Malaysia's unique historical and socioeconomic context, it is concluded that upholding the Federal Constitution is of utmost important and implementing the UPR recommendations should be separated from it.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:256082025-07-15T04:02:24Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/ The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, Wan Naim Wan Mansor, Azril Mohd Amin, In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution provides significant legal protections for religious freedom. Article 11 (1) guarantees the right to profess and practice one's religious beliefs freely, except for restrictions on propagation among Muslims under the federal and state laws (Article 11(4)). Furthermore, according to Article 3 (1), Islam holds a special position in the country. The Malaysian legal system consists of the civil laws and the Syariah laws with two court systems, (example, the Syariah courts and the civil courts). While the former serves as an essential institution for Muslims and maintain the Islamic identity of the nation, issues of jurisdiction have become a subject of contention, particularly in interfaith cases. This study explores an overview of Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on religious freedom and analyses jurisdictional conflicts through interviews with the national legal experts. After carefully considering Malaysia's unique historical and socioeconomic context, it is concluded that upholding the Federal Constitution is of utmost important and implementing the UPR recommendations should be separated from it. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2023 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/1/S%206.pdf Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, and Wan Naim Wan Mansor, and Azril Mohd Amin, (2023) The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia. SINERGI: Journal of Strategic Studies & International Affairs, 3 (1). pp. 69-86. ISSN 2805-4520 https://spaj.ukm.my/sinergi/index.php/sei/issue/view/5
spellingShingle Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil,
Wan Naim Wan Mansor,
Azril Mohd Amin,
The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title_full The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title_fullStr The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title_short The right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in Malaysia
title_sort right to freedom of religion and jurisdictional conflicts in malaysia
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25608/1/S%206.pdf