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Reminder: Malaysia is an officially Islamic country. It is strange given its location, but Islamization also took over other South and East Asian places as well

Reminder: Malaysia is an officially Islamic country. It is strange given its location, but Islamization also took over other South and East Asian places as well, like the Maldives and Indonesia. Malaysia has had a history of religious discrimination from both the state and citizens, despite there being a freedom to practice whatever religion you want. Their notion of religious freedom is also strange, since in order to be considered a Malay you MUST be Muslim. And Malays get all sorts of additional rights and privileges (such as affirmative action). The country also has Sharia law courts - and this is a very real problem for personal freedom, because the Sharia court prevents Muslims from converting to other religions typically, and this forces people to have secret double lives, where privacy is critical. Restrictions on Internet access or violations of privacy/anonymity are a serious problem for those who may run into trouble due to religious discrimination built into Malaysia’s culture and law. Do not accept official explanations like protecting people from harm or stopping misinformation - control over the internet will be abused.

rognjen 2y ago
> is strange given its location, Strange in the current context that it's not in the Middle East but not strange when you look at the map and see that it's a straight shot for a trading ship from the Middle East a thousand years ago.
- GreenWatermelon 2y ago
  And the entirety of India (until the Brits arrived) was "controlled" by the Mogul Empire, which was mainly Muslim. Even Spain/Iberia had a huge Muslim population, until the Reconquesta Kingdoms committed large scale genocide and deportions of Muslims and Jews. And speaking of Unexpectedly Muslim, the Golden Hord (AKA Tattars) which existed on the Crimean region as one of the offshoots from Genghis Khan's conquests, was Muslim. In fact, they allied with the Mamluk kingdom of Egypt against Holugu, leader of another Mongol horde, Ilkhanate.
- ValentineC 2y ago
  > Strange in the current context that it's not in the Middle East but not strange when you look at the map and see that it's a straight shot for a trading ship from the Middle East a thousand years ago. Funny enough, it wasn't a trading ship from the Middle East, but the then-Chinese empire: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2006222/chinese-admiral-who-spread-islam-across-southeast-asia https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2006222/chinese-admir... (no paywall link: https://archive.ph/f8622 https://archive.ph/f8622)

rognjen 2y ago

> is strange given its location, Strange in the current context that it's not in the Middle East but not strange when you look at the map and see that it's a straight shot for a trading ship from the Middle East a thousand years ago.

GreenWatermelon 2y ago
And the entirety of India (until the Brits arrived) was "controlled" by the Mogul Empire, which was mainly Muslim. Even Spain/Iberia had a huge Muslim population, until the Reconquesta Kingdoms committed large scale genocide and deportions of Muslims and Jews. And speaking of Unexpectedly Muslim, the Golden Hord (AKA Tattars) which existed on the Crimean region as one of the offshoots from Genghis Khan's conquests, was Muslim. In fact, they allied with the Mamluk kingdom of Egypt against Holugu, leader of another Mongol horde, Ilkhanate.
ValentineC 2y ago
> Strange in the current context that it's not in the Middle East but not strange when you look at the map and see that it's a straight shot for a trading ship from the Middle East a thousand years ago. Funny enough, it wasn't a trading ship from the Middle East, but the then-Chinese empire: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2006222/chinese-admiral-who-spread-islam-across-southeast-asia https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2006222/chinese-admir... (no paywall link: https://archive.ph/f8622 https://archive.ph/f8622)