Religions Of Malaysia
The vast majority of Malaysians are Muslims, but there are also significant numbers of Hindus, Buddhists, Confucianists and animists among the population. Islam in Malaysia today is a mixture of Sufi and Wahabi elements and as such is relatively liberal. Although most Muslim women wear traditional costume, especially headscarves, very few adopt the veil, and some taboos, like not drinking alcohol, are ignored by a growing number of Malays. There are stricter, more fundamentalist Muslims - in Kelantan the local government is dominated by them - but in general Islam here has a modern outlook, blending a vibrant, practising faith with a business-minded approach. Hinduism arrived in Malaysia long before Islam, and Sufi Islam integrated some of its beliefs, including the tradition of pluralist deity worship, which accounts for the strong cultural importance of festivals like Deepavali and Thaipusam. Malaysian Chinese usually consider themselves either Buddhist, Taoist or Confucianist, although in practice they are often a mixture of all three. Although many of Malaysia's ethnic groups are now nominally Christian or Muslim, many of their old animist beliefs and ceremonies still survive. Birds, especially the hornbill, are of particular significance to the Iban and the Kelabit peoples in Sarawak. Many Kelabit depend upon the arrival of migrating flocks to decide when to plant their rice crop, while Iban hunters still interpret sightings of the hornbill and other birds as good or bad omens. For the Orang Asli groups in the interior of the Peninsula, most of their remaining animist beliefs centre on healing and funeral ceremonies.
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