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Islam<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0Brunei<\/a>‘s official religion, 83% of the population is Muslim,[<\/span>1]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0most of the other Muslim groups are Malay\u00a0Kedayans<\/a>\u00a0(converts from indigenous tribal groups), local\u00a0Chinese<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Dayak Iban<\/a>\u00a0converts. Islam was introduced to Brunei by traders arriving from\u00a0Persia<\/a>,\u00a0Arabia<\/a>, India, China and by the 14th century the royal house had by then converted to Islam.<\/p>\n The official religion of Brunei is\u00a0Sunni Islam<\/a>. With the noteworthy exception of\u00a0Sultan<\/a>\u00a0Omar Ali Saifuddien III<\/a>‘s tomb, which has been turned into a pilgrimage destination during\u00a0Ramadan<\/a>,\u00a0Brunei Malay Muslims<\/a>\u00a0do not often revere saints or holy tombs, unlike in other Muslim societies. Brunei’s pre-Islamic ancestor worship customs had an impact on the custom of visiting cemeteries during Ramadan to purify and offer prayers for the deceased.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n [<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n [<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n Although the exact date of Islam’s entrance in Brunei is unknown, evidence points to as far back as the 10th century, when P’u-lu-shieh, a Chinese Muslim diplomat and trader, arrived in 977. A delegation from Brunei led by another Muslim, P’u A-li (Abu Ali), visited China afterwards, implying that although the monarch was not a Muslim, Islam was practiced in the country’s royal court. Islamic tombstones, such as that of the\u00a0Chinese Muslim<\/a>\u00a0Pu Kung Chih-mu, who was buried in 1264, show that Islam was prevalent in Brunei long before Awang Alak Betatar (later Sultan\u00a0Muhammad Shah<\/a>) converted to Islam for the first time in the late 14th century. Although some historians from Europe contend that Brunei did not convert to Islam until the 15th century, local historians claim that Chinese documents from 1370 mention a King called Ma-ho-mo-sa, who is believed to be Muhammad Shah, Brunei’s first Islamic monarch, shows that Islam had reached the royal house by then.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Bruneian historians claim that the impact of Islam developed rapidly after Sultan Muhammad Shah’s conversion, suggesting two waves of\u00a0Islamisation<\/a>: one through early travelers and the other through the Sultan’s conversion. Arab immigrant Sheikh Syarif Ali (later Sultan\u00a0Sharif Ali<\/a>), a descendent of\u00a0Prophet<\/a>\u00a0Muhammad<\/a>, who came from\u00a0Taif<\/a>\u00a0and wed Sultan\u00a0Ahmad<\/a>‘s daughter,[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0had a great impact on the spread of Islam in Brunei. He promoted Islam in\u00a0Java<\/a>, where he tried to win over the\u00a0Majapahit<\/a>\u00a0King, as well as in Brunei, where he constructed a mosque and gave Friday lectures. Islam was carried throughout\u00a0Borneo<\/a>\u00a0and into the southern Philippines by him and other sultans. Brunei had solidified Islam by the 16th century, and Islamic components were incorporated into its legislation.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Brunei society saw a number of significant changes around the turn of the 18th century. With a strong and skilled sultan, the nation looked to the future with hope, despite its modest population of 12,000 to 25,000. The sultan prudently placed Brunei under\u00a0British protection<\/a>\u00a0in 1888 and 1905\/1906, guaranteeing political stability. This choice, together with administrative and economic reforms, improved socioeconomic conditions and made it possible for more Bruneians to travel to\u00a0Mecca<\/a>. The sultan’s position in the sultanate was further cemented when he emerged as a key figure in Islam’s religion.\u00a0Abdul Mokti Nasar<\/a>‘s prolonged stay in Mecca serves as an example of Brunei’s involvement in Islamic scholarship during this time. He gained a deeper understanding of Islam and mastered\u00a0Arabic<\/a>\u00a0during his stay in Mecca, which prepared him for a significant role in Brunei’s religious and educational life after his return. The continued religious growth in Brunei was also distinguished by the spread of\u00a0Sufi tariga<\/i><\/a>\u00a0orders like\u00a0Khalwatiyya<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Shadhiliyah<\/a>, however further research is required to determine their precise impact.[<\/span>5]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Foreign Islamic\u00a0missionaries<\/a>\u00a0remained active in Brunei during the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries. These missionaries originated from the\u00a0Patani Kingdom<\/a>\u00a0in southern Thailand as well as the nearby Borneo regions of\u00a0Sultanate of Sambas<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Sarawak<\/a>. Students in Brunei studied and analysed popular books written in the 19th century by religious intellectuals from the Sambas sultanate, such Sheikh Ahmad Khatib (1860\u20131916). Abdul Mokti and Dato Ahmad Banjar were two of Khatib’s students from Brunei. According to their writings, man’s assimilation of religious ideas and lessons makes the will of Allah visible in addition to mystical deeds.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0A substantial portion of Brunei’s legal system dates back to the 19th century and is derived on English common law customs.[<\/span>7]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Following this, Islam fluctuated in popularity in Brunei, a country that was devastated by incursions from\u00a0Rajah of Sarawak<\/a>, a nearby province, and lost a large portion of its land. The 19th century British intervention in Brunei contributed to its stabilisation and preservation. As a\u00a0British protectorate<\/a>, Brunei accepted\u00a0military defence<\/a>\u00a0from the British in 1888 in return for allowing colonial influence. A\u00a0British Residency<\/a>\u00a0system that was implemented in 1906 increased Britain’s influence over the Sultan. The Sultan was required to abide by the British resident’s administrative recommendations, with the exception of subjects pertaining to Islam. Unintentionally, this strategy served to strengthen the sultan’s position as the protector of Islam, which had been severely undermined by\u00a0colonialism<\/a>. Brunei Town (present day\u00a0Bandar Seri Begawan<\/a>), the capital of Brunei, had just one mosque in 1906, and it was in terrible shape.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n A set of\u00a0Sharia<\/a>\u00a0laws known as the Mohammedan Enactments were created in 1912 and 1913, shortly after the British residency system was formed, to govern civil concerns pertaining to marriage, family, and\u00a0inheritance<\/a>.[<\/span>7]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Brunei’s economy had an enormous boom in 1929 after the discovery of the\u00a0Seria oil field<\/a>. By sponsoring the building of mosques, financing\u00a0religious study<\/a>, and promoting Islamic practice broadly, this new wealth helped bring Islam back to life. Nevertheless, during\u00a0World War II<\/a>,\u00a0Japanese occupation of Brunei<\/a>\u00a0in 1941 and held it until 1945, overthrowing the British government, upsetting the nation’s newly acquired prosperity and stability.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The Mohammedan Religious Council was established in 1948. The council, led by the nation’s\u00a0Pengiran Bendahara<\/a>, assumed responsibility for advising the sultan on questions of religion.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n [<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n The Islamic government underwent a significant overhaul and\u00a0bureaucratisation<\/a>\u00a0after 1950. In the current setup, the head of state and head of religion are the same person\u2014the Sultan, who also serves as\u00a0Prime Minister<\/a>.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III was crowned head of state by the British in 1950. He built the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Brunei Town, using around 10% of the first national development budget during his rule.[<\/span>4]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Later, he invited\u00a0Ismail Omar Abdul Aziz<\/a>\u00a0and the Chief Inspector of Religious Schools of Johor, Tuan Haji Othman bin Haji Mohammad, to examine the plan to open a religious school in Brunei in 1955.[<\/span>8]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0After conducting an examination, the half-hour of weekly religious teaching offered in both Malay and English schools in Brunei was found to be inadequate. It goes without saying that the Sultan approved the establishment of Brunei’s first religious school in September 1956 as a consequence of this open examination.[<\/span>9]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n In 1955, the Mohammedan Enactments underwent revisions. For example, a person who wanted a divorce would file for it with the Sharia courts, which deal with disputes pertaining to both religious offences and personal status.[<\/span>7]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Islam was formally recognised as Brunei’s official religion under the 1959\u00a0Constitution of Brunei<\/a>.[<\/span>3]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0An elite group of people who attended\u00a0Al-Azhar University<\/a>\u00a0in Egypt and\u00a0Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah<\/a>\u00a0in Singapore began to hold significant governmental posts in Brunei in the mid-1960s. This trio, which comprised Pehin\u00a0Abdul Aziz Juned<\/a>\u00a0Pehin\u00a0Badruddin Othman<\/a>, and Pehin\u00a0Zain Serudin<\/a>, provided religious leadership in the sultanate.[<\/span>2]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n One of the immediate outcomes of the Sultan’s religious education program was the training of students who completed seven grades to become local religious educators. The “trained religious teachers” needed to pass a test and show up for weekly classes before they could be called “untrained teachers.” On 22 May 1966, five days a week for a year, evening religious training programs were introduced to help them develop their skills and become fully qualified “Trained Religious Teachers.”[<\/span>10]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0During his seventeen-year reign, Brunei rapidly developed through national initiatives that improved living standards and promoted Islam by building mosques,\u00a0suraus<\/a>, religious halls, government offices, and schools nationwide.[<\/span>11]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III’s advocacy of\u00a0Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah<\/a>, an Islamic philosophy, was essential in fortifying Islam in Brunei. His efforts were most noticeable in the field of religious education, as he founded Arabic schools, built religious schools and a college for religious instructors, and ordered that religious themes be taught in schools. He also instituted religious seminars for older folks, sent residents overseas to study Islam, and promoted Quran reading competitions. A peaceful Muslim state, Brunei was brought together under the philosophy and the\u00a0Shafi’i school<\/a>\u00a0of\u00a0Fiqh<\/a>\u00a0by the efforts of the Sultan. The country’s peaceful society and aspiration to become a “Negara\u00a0Zikir<\/a>” were made possible by this togetherness.[<\/span>12]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n [<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n In 1967, Sultan\u00a0Hassanal Bolkiah<\/a>\u00a0assumed the throne and expedited the process of fortifying Islamic customs in Brunei. His ambition to increase his base of authority as well as his own religious passion drove this campaign. Large sums of money were spent on numerous Muslim programs as the nation continued to amass significant income from oil in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Brunei used its oil wealth to support Islamic education in addition to building lavish mosques and enabling religious\u00a0pilgrimages<\/a>\u00a0to Mecca and other religious events. The state established and extended a variety of higher Islamic educational institutions in an effort to produce a large number of Islamic scholars.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Following Brunei’s independence in 1984, the Sultan committed enormous resources to the sultanate’s Islamic development. In addition to creating the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Foundation in 1992 to support secular and religious studies, he constructed ornate mosques. He not only gave financial backing to Islamic projects but also started to steer the sultanate toward a stricter interpretation of Islam. He repressed\u00a0reformism<\/a>\u00a0and promoted a\u00a0fundamentalist interpretation<\/a>\u00a0of Islam connected to the\u00a0Melayu Islam Beraja<\/a>\u00a0(MIB) through the state-run\u00a0media<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0educational system<\/a>.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n The day-to-day management of religious affairs is within the purview of the\u00a0Ministry of Religious Affairs<\/a>, which was established on 1 January 1986,[<\/span>13]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0two years after Brunei attained independence. A\u00a0State Mufti<\/a>\u00a0is appointed by the\u00a0Prime Minister’s Office<\/a>\u00a0to issue religious decrees in the interim. In Brunei, where religious enthusiasm is growing, the function of the mufti is quite evident. The mufti defends a number of religious bans, including the prohibition against alcohol.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Unambiguously speaking, the Sultan stated on 15 July 1996, that it was divinely mandated to create an Islamic Criminal Law Act. Additionally, he assigned a working group of Sharia experts, including a professor from Pakistan, to investigate the issue. Changes among the monarch’s religious advisors corresponded with a greater focus on the\u00a0Islamic penal code<\/a>. He designated\u00a0Mahmud Saedon<\/a>\u00a0as a special Islamic law expert in 1994. In a paper released in 1996, Mahmud Saedon proposed that Brunei do away with its dual legal system and replace it with a single Sharia framework that included an Islamic criminal code, as it was believed to have done in pre-colonial Brunei.[<\/span>14]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n Despite Mahmud Saedon’s passing in 2002, the Islamic Da’wah Center republished the work in English in 2008, the same year that the concept of hudud laws gained traction. His “visionary” paper was undoubtedly crucial in laying the groundwork for the Syariah Penal Code Order’s (SPCO) implementation two decades later, and as such, pro-MIB academics and local media have consistently referenced it since 2013. Then State Mufti Abdul Aziz Juned had a major role in creating the SPCO’s drafts, was among the other Islamic bureaucratic elites who had long harbored desires for the organization.[<\/span>14]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Abdul Aziz Juned has also advocated for strict obedience to Sharia law, the Islamic religious code, in 2009 and again in 2012. This includes when it comes to concerns related to criminal crimes. In response, the Sultan said in 2009 and again in 2012 that Sharia law will soon be fully incorporated into\u00a0civil<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0criminal law<\/a>.[<\/span>6]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n On 30 April 2014,\u00a0Sultan<\/a>\u00a0Hassanal Bolkiah announced the implementation and enforcement of the first phase of\u00a0Syariah<\/a>\u00a0Penal Code Law in Brunei starting 1 May 2014.[<\/span>15]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0With effect from April 2019, The Sultan’s legislation imposing the death penalty by stoning for homosexuality and\u00a0adultery<\/a>[<\/span>16]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0sparked protests around the world and calls for\u00a0boycotting<\/a>\u00a0companies owned by the Bruneian royal family, especially the\u00a0Dorchester Collection<\/a>\u00a0hotels.[<\/span>17]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0This came after a Sharia law penal code was put into place in 2014 and included severe penalties like\u00a0flogging<\/a>,\u00a0stoning<\/a>, and limb\u00a0amputation<\/a>\u00a0for offences like abortion, adultery, and same-sex acts.[<\/span>18]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>19]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>20]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The government proceeded with a second phase in 2019 that said that anybody who insulted the prophet Muhammad would face execution by stoning.[<\/span>21]<\/span><\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n [<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n In 2017, it was reported 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.[<\/span>22]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>[<\/span>23]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0There were 362,035 Sunni Muslims in Brunei as of 2021\u2014190,314 men and 171,721 women. 193 people converted to Islam in\u00a0Brunei\u2013Muara District<\/a>, 78 in\u00a0Belait District<\/a>, 112 in\u00a0Tutong District<\/a>, and 15 in\u00a0Temburong District<\/a>\u00a0in 2023.[<\/span>24]<\/span><\/a><\/sup>\u00a0The 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.\nHistory<\/h2>\n
\nArrival and early history of Islam<\/h3>\n
\n<\/span>Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III (1950\u20131967)<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/0\/0f\/Brunei_Town_in_1968_02.jpg\/250px-Brunei_Town_in_1968_02.jpg\")
<\/a>\n<\/span>Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah (1967\u2013present)<\/h3>\n
![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/8\/81\/Jame%27Asr_Hassanil_Bolkiah_Mosque_%2818404307540%29.jpg\/250px-Jame%27Asr_Hassanil_Bolkiah_Mosque_%2818404307540%29.jpg\")
<\/a>![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/b\/b7\/Baju_Melayu.jpg\/250px-Baju_Melayu.jpg\")
<\/a>\nDemographics<\/h2>\n
![](\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/3\/31\/Muslim_self-identification.jpg\/330px-Muslim_self-identification.jpg\")
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