Islam and violence in Malaysia.

Abstract

In Malaysia, violence related to Islam has been the exception rather than the rule. Aversion towards violence among Malaysian Muslims traces its roots to a muli-religious policy. The state has, however, been driven a few times into coercive action by the occurence of actual or threat of potential violence. This paper chronicles the few cases of violence which have intermittently driven a wedge between Islamists and the state, which harbours its own vision of a moderm Islamic policy. It argues that there is thin evidence to support a posited relationship between Islam and violence. Despite recent security scares related in one way or another to imagined or actual Islamic groups in the 'war against terrorism' era, the posibility of an Islamic state emerging in Malaysia via militant means remains remote.