Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
» Salat (prayer) Ideally five times a day, in which the muezzin (prayer leader) calls the faithful to prayer from the
minarets of every mosque.
» Zakat (tax) Usually taking the form of a charitable donation.
» Sawm (fasting) Includes observing the fasting month of Ramadan.
» Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca) Every Muslim aspires to do the hajj at least once in their lifetime.
Muslim dietary laws forbid alcohol, pork and all pork-based products. Restaurants where
it's OK for Muslims to dine will be clearly labelled 'halal'; this is a stricter definition than
places that label themselves simply 'pork-free'.
A radical Islamic movement has not taken serious root in Malaysia but religious conser-
vatism has grown over recent years. For foreign visitors, the most obvious sign of this is
the national obsession with propriety, which extends to newspaper polemics on female
modesty and raids by the police on 'immoral' public establishments, which can include
clubs and bars where Muslims may be drinking.
More Muslim women wear the hijab (a head covering also known regionally as the tud-
ong ) today than, say, 20 years ago. In 2011, a young Muslim filmmaker Norhayati
Kaprawi made the documentary Siapa Aku? (Who Am I?), which examines some of the
reasons behind this, interviewing a spectrum of Malaysian women from across the coun-
try. Shamsul Amri Bahruddin, director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at the National
University of Malaysia, is quoted within the film as saying that 'conformity is the most
dominating factor on why women in Malaysia wear a tudong'.
On the other hand, the New York Times in 2011 reported that Malaysia was leading the
way in the Islamic world with regard to embracing women as preachers and teachers of
the Muslim faith, an area traditionally dominated by men, citing Zaleha Kamaruddin, the
first female rector appointed to head the country's International Islamic University.
However, women preachers still are not allowed to lead prayers at mosques.
The most popular Chinese gods and local deities, or shen, are Kuan Yin, the goddess of mercy; Kuan Ti,
the god of war and wealth; and Toh Peh Kong, a local deity representing the spirit of the pioneers and
found only outside China.
Chinese Religions
 
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