There is growing media interest in how lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) Muslims negotiate their seemingly incompatible religious and sexual identities. Thus, there is a need to investigate how some LGBT Muslims utilise Islam as a resource for alternative pedagogical strategies to reconcile their personal beliefs and values. Their…

As a very controversial issue in Islam, polygamy allows Muslim men to marry up to four wives. It has been told that the Quran encourages polygamy; thus, it is a part of Islamic "Sharia." Many Muslim men practice it at their whim and they contend that they do so to follow the "Sunnah." Amongst Muslim countries, Malaysia is one…

Purpose: This paper aims to present the qualitative findings on students' and teachers' experiences in communicating and interacting with students and teachers from different ethnic backgrounds in the Malaysian vision schools initiative. Design/methodology/approach: Face-to-face interviews were conducted involving 15 informants comprising of three…

This article considers the growth of Pentecostal-style churches in Southeast Asia, and specifically in Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. It outlines four reasons for the growth that occurred and then, using qualitative and quantitative data in a mixed mode, seeks to test the hypotheses it derives. It concludes that each of the hypotheses…

Malaysia is a multiracial country with a diverse range of religions, leading to a broad range of religious festivals throughout the year. In recent years, corporate giants such as Petronas, Telekom Malaysia (TM), Tenaga and Astro have taken to airing television commercials (TVCs) that contain a local touch when greeting their customers. Perhaps…

In its effort to provide solid religious foundation for Muslim students, the Ministry of Education Malaysia has launched a national religious literacy initiative known as the j-QAF Programme in 2004. This programme has since been implemented in public primary schools throughout the country and incorporated as a part of the curriculum of studies.…

Malaysia is a multicultural country constituting three major ethno-cultural groups, Malay and Bumiputera, Chinese and Indian. Owing to its diverse cultures attempts through a number of channels, politics, economics and social were made to bring about national integration. School is thought to be the most effective platform to bring about national…

This article explores Vygotsky's concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) in the Malaysian context to support local reform of the Moral Education (ME) classroom. Small groups of students in three different types of school were involved in a participant action research (PAR) project. Such classrooms in Malaysia bring together students from…

This study surveys 200 Malay students enrolled in three Chinese primary schools in relation to three issues, i.e., parental choice of schooling, learning processes and inter-ethnic friendship patterns. The three issues are explored through a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Parental expectations for their…