Men in the state of Terengganu who fail to attend Friday prayers without a valid reason could be jailed for up to two years, according to new laws announced by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS).
Under Sharia law, imposed by the governing PAS, non-attendance now threatens fines of 3,000 ringgit (£527), imprisonment, or both, as opposed to the prior penalties which were limited to 1,000 ringgit (£176) or a six-month jail sentence.
“The strict enforcement of Friday prayer attendance in Terengganu is observed as part of the broader Islamisation effort, especially in states like Terengganu and Kelantan which are governed by PAS,” a spokesperson for Open Doors told en. “Similar provisions exist in other states like Selangor, Penang or Johor, but they are not as strict nor as strongly enforced compared with Terengganu.
“This imposition of stricter Friday prayer laws is just specific to this region as they are led by PAS which seeks to expand the Sharia law and embed Islam deeper in the public life.”
PAS, which is the largest political party in the country, is especially focused on pushing for greater Islamic influence in the states it governs, like Terangganu, including efforts to implement Islamic criminal law, harsher dress codes and gender segregation in public places.
However, this pattern of political Islamisation is not unique to Terengganu or PAS. Since 2020, the Open Doors report says, Malaysia’s political landscape has been volatile, with political parties leveraging Islam to generate voter support.
A 2023 Pew Research Centre survey showed that 86% of Malaysia’s Muslims supported making Sharia the country’s official law.
A Muslim-majority country, only 10% of Malaysia’s population is Christian, and the country’s constitution bans the proselytising of Muslims and the conversion of ethnic Malays to other religions.
This year, Malaysia sits just outside Open Doors’ World Watch List, ranked at number 51 for its level of persecution against Christians.
“Every ethnic Malay is expected to be Muslim,” says Open Doors’ 2025 report on Malaysia. “Roman Catholics, Methodists and NGOs are watched by the authorities, but non-traditional Protestant groups often face greater interference as these tend to be more active in testifying about their faith.”
