Thinking of Malaysia as an Islamic state part 1

The idea that Malaysia is an Islamic state was always present since
independence. It recent years it has become more pronounced.
While there is a debate on what exactly is an Islamic state, one simple
definition is where the Quran is the basis of state (national) law.
Understanding the views of Muslims and non-Muslims on the role of the Quran in
the state is important for several reasons but two are critical: (i) a state governed
by laws based on the Quran could upend the concept of a liberal democracy, and
(ii) due to the number of Muslims globally and in many countries where they are
in majority, their preference become important.
There were 1.6 billion Muslims in the world in 2010 or 23% of the global
population and While Islam is currently the worlds second largest religion, it is
the fastest growing religion. There are 50 Muslim majority countries. Although
the Middle East and North Africa region are heavily Muslim, this region is home
only to about 20% of world Muslims. The majority of Muslims globally (62%) live
in the Asia-Pacific region including large populations in Indonesia, India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Iran and Turkey2.
This question on how Muslims view the influence of Quran on national (state)
laws was the subject of a Pew Research study (Spring 2015 Global Attitudes
Survey. Q4). A representative sample of citizens in ten Muslim majority countries
(Palestinian territories [100% of its citizens Muslim], Pakistan [with 97% of its
citizens Muslim], Jordan [96%], Turkey [96%], Senegal [94%], Indonesia [91%],
Malaysia [64%], Burkina Faso [60%], Lebanon [55%] and Nigeria [50%]) were
surveyed. ,
In the survey (findings published as The Divide over Islam and National Laws in
the Muslim World), the following question was asked: Which of the following
three statements comes closer to your view (1) laws in our country should
strictly follow the teaching of the Quran, (2) laws in our country should follow the
values and principles of Islam but not strictly follow the teachings of the Quran
OR (3) laws in our country should not be influenced by the teachings of the
Quran?
In Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Malaysia and Senegal, roughly half
or more of the total population says that laws in their country should strictly
follow the teachings of the Quran. It was less than a quarter in Burkina Faso,
Turkey, Lebanon and Indonesia.
In Malaysia, 52% of Malaysians had views that laws in Malaysia should strictly
follow the teaching of the Quran; 17% had the view that laws in Malaysia should
follow the values and principles of Islam but not strictly follow the teaching of the
Quran, and only 17% had the view that Malaysias laws should not be influenced
by the teachings of the Quran. It is important to note that this result was based
on a representative sample of Malaysian Muslims and non-Muslims. When broken
down, 78% of Muslims surveyed for this study had the view that laws in Malaysia
should follow the teachings of the Quran, 16% had the view that it should follow
the values and principles of Islam, 4% had the view that Malaysian laws should
not be influenced by the Quran, and 2% did not know.
78% of Pakistanis held the view that laws in Pakistan should strictly follow the
teachings of the Quran but only 22% of Indonesians held the same view. In
Indonesia, 52% of Indonesians held the view that laws in Indonesian should
follow the values and principles of Islam but not strictly follow the teachings of
the Quran. Only in Burkina Faso, did 60% of those surveyed (including 50% of
Muslims) state that they did not want the teachings of the Quran to influence
laws in the country.
While it is important to note that Islam is not a monolithic religion and
interpretations of the Quran are diverse and often even contradictory, two
observations in my view is important to Malaysia
(i) There is no separation between state and religion for Muslims in the
nine Muslim majority countries in this survey [Burkina Faso being the
exception]; and
(ii) A simple majority of Malaysians in this survey (52%) want national laws
to strictly follow the teachings of the Quran; and an overwhelming
number of Malaysian Muslims in this survey (78%) want national laws
to strictly follow the teachings of the Quran.