Article 3 of the Constitution of Malaysia

Independence and the Making of Malaysia · Treatise · 8 min read

How Does Article 3 Write Islam? The Religion of the Federation and Freedom of Belief

Article 3 writes Islam into the Federation, and also writes that other religions may be practised in peace; the real question is where the boundary lies

The majority of the Reid Commission originally did not recommend writing a state religion into the Constitution. Justice Abdul Hamid's dissent argued for Islam to be written as the religion of the Federation, while not affecting the practice of religion by non-Muslims. The final Article 3 says: Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony. This chapter reads only that threshold: how religion was placed, and why it can neither be treated as meaningless nor expanded without limit.