ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about Islam, democracy and notions of an Islamic state as these entities have evolved in the Malaysian context, in terms of subsequent recourse to the bastion of democracy, the constitution. Whether the Islamic state is coherent or cohesive with democracy became an important consideration after the prime minister's declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state and focus on the issue continues until the present. During its annual convention in August 2004, the Islamist opposition political party, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS), reiterated its primary objective of establishing an Islamic state. The chapter analyzes the reaction by political parties, civil society groups and individuals who use recourse to the constitution in their reactions to the pronouncement by the prime minister that Malaysia is an Islamic state. It discusses the legitimacy from traditional sources for the government's describing itself in its present form as Islamic, and is patterned on the rhetoric of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
