Masjid Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, a state Masjid of Brunei Darussalam

Islam is Brunei's official religion, 82.70 percent of the population is Muslim,[1] mostly Sunnis of Malay origin who follow the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence. Most of the other Muslim groups are Malay Kedayans (converts from indigenous tribal groups), local Chinese and Dayak Iban converts. Islam was introduced to Brunei by traders arriving from Persia, Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, other religions can be practiced freely.

History

List of Islamic denominations of which Shafi'i Sunni is the most common in Brunei.

Islam was adopted in the 15th century when a Muslim-Malay was installed as Sultan. The Sultan traditionally was responsible for upholding Islamic traditions, although the responsibility was usually delegated to appointed officials.

Since the 1930s Sultans have used rising oil revenues to provide an extensive social welfare system and promote Islam, including subsidising the Haji, building Masjids, and expanding the Department of Religious Affairs (KHEU).

The Islamic religious education in Brunei is well organized and structured. In 1956, on the personal request of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III, the government of Johore sent a Senior Islamic Religious Officer, Tuan Guru Haji Othman Haji Said to Brunei to assist the government of Brunei in establishing a similar Government Islamic Religious School as in Johore. He successfully organized and established the Brunei Government Islamic Religious School throughout all districts in Brunei (1956-1962).

The 1st School was established in 1956 at Sekolah Sultan Muhammad Jamalul Alam (SMJA) in Brunei Town. The school adopted the same syllabus from Standard 1 to Standard 6 and used the same books as that of Johore Government Islamic School, running in the afternoon at the same school premises as Brunei Government National schools. After completing Standard 6, the students may choose to undergo a special training class for a year to be trained as a qualified Islamic Religious School. Initially, Islamic teachers from Johore were brought in.

The Royal family of Brunei is well-educated in Islam. Similar Islamic education was introduced to all the Royal Families of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien, (including the present Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his wife Raja Isteri Saleha). Special School for the Royal Family was established in 1957 at Istana Darul Hana and the first Islamic Religious teacher was Cikgu Hajjah Salbiah Haji Shafii (wife of Tuan Guru Haji Othman Haji Said).

With the constitution in 1959, Islam became the official religion of the country.[2]

On 30 April 2014, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced the implementation and enforcement of the first phase of Syariah Penal Code Law in Brunei starting 1 May 2014.[3]

Denominations

Sunni Islam

The Sunni Islam of the Shafi'i school of thought is the official, legal form in Malaysia, although syncretist Islam with elements of Shamanism is still common in rural areas. Mosques are an ordinary scene throughout the country and azan (call to prayer) from minarets are heard five times a day. Government bodies and banking institutions are closed for two hours every Friday so Muslim workers can conduct Friday prayer in mosques.

Since it is compulsory for Muslims to perform a prayer 5 times a day no matter where they are, almost all public places, including shopping malls, hotels, condominiums, usually have allocated spaces called "Surau", for performing the Muslim prayers.

In 2017, it was reported that Wahhabism doesn't spreading among Bruneian's elite, and that the traditional Islamic theology currently taught in Government schools is gradually being shifted to a view of theology derived from the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia.[4][5]

Shia Islam

The Brunei government has strict policies against other Islamic sects, including a complete ban on Shia Islam,[6] allegedly to "avoid violence between the two faiths that has sometimes broken out in other parts of the world by promoting only the Sunni faith".[7][8] Due to decades of the Saudi funding, Shia Islam is openly and freely demonized and Shia Muslims are oppressed in the country, their prayers and gatherings are broken up, state's secret service also engages in Shia forced disappearances. Anti-Shi'ism reaches such an extent that the mainstream media always present Iran in bad light while blindly glorying Saudi Arabia.[9] For example, in 2019 Malaysian police raided multiple private functions commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali at the battle of Karbala, arresting scores of foreign and local Shia Muslims.[10] While the true numbers are not known, the number of Bruneian Shia Muslims is estimated at around 26,600.[9]

Other sects

Muslims who believe Mirza Ghulam Ahmad to be the fulfilment of the Islamic prophecies concerning the return of Jesus, the Ahmadiyya, are also present. There are approximately 500 Ahmadis in the country.[11] But now, the Ahmadi's were illegal spreading to all Brunei citizens.[12]

Historical Population of Bruneian Muslims
YearPop.±%
1981122,269—    
1991174,973+43.1%
2001249,822+42.8%
2011309,962+24.1%
2016337,391+8.8%
Source: Bruneian Department of Statistics [13]

Conversions to Islam

The number of Bruneian converts to Islam has increased ever since Islam became the official religion of the country in 1954. And by 2004, it was recorded that over 16,000 Bruneians had converted to Islam.[14] From 2009 to 2020, there have been 5,884 individuals who have converted to Islam in Brunei.[15]

Conversions by District [15]
District 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Brunei Muara 234 281 260 269 256 300 245 242 203 204 152 218
Belait 153 161 115 94 124 130 94 110 67 74 109 77
Tutong 125 175 124 88 129 132 130 102 112 104 64 125
Temburong 21 25 37 18 29 23 45 18 27 22 22 16
Total: 533 642 536 469 537 585 514 472 409 404 347 436
Conversions By Ethnicity [15]
Ethnicity 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Dusun 151 154 131 103 149 164 141 122 108 110 102 122
Murut 14 20 11 14 10 7 12 12 4 13 4 13
Iban 173 208 149 136 130 139 134 115 109 99 111 118
Chinese 61 74 63 58 80 78 66 75 60 70 47 74
Other 134 186 182 158 168 197 161 148 128 112 83 109
Total: 533 642 536 469 537 585 514 472 409 404 347 436

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "The golden history of Islam in Brunei | the Brunei Times". Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  3. ↑ Brunei, Agence France-Presse in (30 April 2014). "Sultan of Brunei unveils strict sharia penal code". the Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Wahabism spreading among Malaysia's elite". 14 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "The radicalisation of Islam in Malaysia". thestar.com.my. 28 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Rights Group Says Twelves Bruneians Detained For Being Shia Muslims", Islam Online. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  7. ↑ "Iraqi Sunnis forced to abandon homes and identity in battle for survival", "The Guardian". Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  8. ↑ Fernandez, Celine (15 December 2013). "Malaysian Shia Muslims Prepare for Trial". The Wall Street Journal.
  9. 1 2 Roknifard, Julia (25 July 2019). "The growing threat of sectarianism in Malaysia". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  10. ↑ "More foreigners arrested in fresh raids on private Shia functions in Johor, Selangor". freemalaysiatoday.com. 10 September 2019.
  11. ↑ "Malaysia's Ahmadis living dangerously". 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  12. ↑ "Living with the Ahmadiyah – The Nut Graph, Malaysia". thepersecution.org. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "Population by Religion, Sex and Census Year".
  14. ↑ Ahmad Kumpoh, Asiyah (2011-01-01). Conversion to Islam: The case of the Dusun ethnic group in Brunei Darussalam (Thesis).
  15. 1 2 3 "Population by Religion, Sex and Census Year".
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