Malaysia's growing ties to Saudi Arabia — and its puritan Salafi-Wahhabi Islamic doctrines — are coming under new scrutiny as concerns grow over an erosion of traditional religious practices and culture in the multiethnic nation.
A string of recent events has fueled the concern. Hostility toward atheists, nonbelievers and the gay community has risen. Two annual beer festivals were cancelled after Islamic leaders objected. A hardline preacher, accused of spreading hatred in India, has received official patronage.
The government has backed a parliamentary bill that will allow the Shariah court wider criminal jurisdiction over Muslims in the state of Kelantan. And after religious officials supported a Muslim-only laundromat, Malaysia's mostly ceremonial royalty made a rare public intervention, calling for religious harmony.