Word: muslimism
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Malaya gained independence from the British. Her father was Christian, her mother came from a Hindu family, but they both officially converted to Islam, the religion practiced by Malaysia's majority Malays. Yet Revathi does not feel welcome in her ethnically and religiously diverse homeland. According to Malaysian law, Muslims can only marry other Muslims. Revathi, who was actually raised in the Hindu faith, had fallen in love with a Hindu man. But because of her parents' earlier conversion, she was deemed a Muslim and a judge refused to change her religious status. Revathi's marriage was never recognized...
...before existed. In Asia, only the nations of Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Brunei rank higher than Malaysia in the U.N.'s Human Development Index. Most impressively, while other multiethnic nations like Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka and Rwanda fractured into conflict, Malaysia has largely kept peace between groups that include Muslim Malays (about 50%); Buddhist and Christian Chinese (roughly 25%); Hindu, Sikh and Muslim Indians (less than 10%); and indigenous peoples, who abide by many faiths including animism (around 10%). "Our biggest achievement is that we have not only survived but we have progressed and thrived," Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi...
...been repeatedly questioned during the latter part of Mahathir's 22-year rule. To underscore Malaysia's commitment to economic efficiency, Abdullah initially scaled back several of Mahathir's prestige megaprojects, including a money-losing national auto company and a massive dam in Borneo. The son of a moderate Muslim cleric also brought a measure of spiritual authority to the ruling coalition, which had been fighting the rise of an Islamic-based political party that attracted Malay votes even as it alienated non-Malays. "The important thing is that everyone's rights are protected," Abdullah told TIME. "Malaysia...
...Indeed, the courts may actually be exacerbating Malaysia's divisions. Revathi's case is only one of several that have challenged the complicated legal system set up by Malaysia's founding fathers. The country employs a dual-track structure in which Muslims are bound by an Islamic Shari'a court on issues such as family law, while non-Muslims are governed by civil courts. For many years, overlapping issues, as in the case of intermarriage, were quietly negotiated by both courts. But now, Shari'a courts are increasingly refusing to accept conversions out of Islam, arguing that apostasy is illegal...
...Concerns about corruption could strengthen the political opposition. The Islamic Party of Malaysia gained control of two of Malaysia's 13 states in 1999 after convincing voters that fighting graft was a fundamental Muslim virtue. The party lost power in one of those states three years ago but is predicting a rebound in next year's polls. Anwar's party is optimistic, too, and has been campaigning on a clean-government platform. Realistically, neither opposition party is strong enough to challenge the ruling coalition. But even a few lost seats would be an embarrassment to a governing élite that...