Malaysian Indian - Religions and Faiths

Religions and Faiths

In Indian communities, which mostly consist of Tamils, Malayali, and Telugus, Hinduism, is the main faith, followed by Christianity and Islam.

Hinduism and Buddhism came from India and arrived in the Malay Peninsula around the 2nd century AD . The Indian-influenced kingdoms of Kadaram (Old Kedah), and Ilangosagam (Langkasuka) practiced Hinduism and Buddhism during the rule of the Malay-Srivijaya and Tamil-Chola kingdoms. The early Indians married into leading families of Maritime Southeast Asia and brought Hindu ideas of kingship. More than a thousand years later the Tamils married into the families of the Sultans and Bendaharas of Malacca.

Trade contact between the Tamils, Malayali along with other southeastern Indians such as Telugus, Bengalis and Arabs and with East Indies antedate the Islamic period (c. 570-632 AD), or the birth of Islam. Indonesians and Malays came to know about Islam through the merchants of south India and not through Arab missionaries. Furthermore Islam had reached South India, particularly Tamil country in the 8th century AD, while the state of Gujurat received Islam during the early 14th century, as a result of the invasion of the Delhi sultanate.

The practice of Hinduism began to rise since the first wave of people from the Indian subcontinent during Rajaraja Chola. Hinduism is the most practised religion amongst the Tamils, including both the major Hindu and Tamil pantheon of deities. Tamils of both Indian and Sri Lankan backgrounds practice Hinduism. Telugus predominantly belong to the Vaisnavite branch of Hinduism, with a minority among them belonging to Christianity and Islam.

Christianity is practiced by Tamil people in many denominations. Christianity has been in Tamilakkam or Tamil nation since the times of St. Thomas, an apostle of Christ. After him, came the Portuguese who introduced Catholicism, then the British who introduced the Protestant denominations. In Malaysia, most of the Christians are Methodist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Plymouth Brethren (Christian Brethren of Malaysia), and Catholic. Amongst the Malayali community Catholicism is strong. The Marthoma Church also has a strong presence in Malaysia. Sikhism is practiced by many Punjabis. While most of the estimated 200,000 Indian-Muslim community was absorbed with the larger Malay society due to their common religious background, with a substantially high level of assimilation and intermarriage between the communities, rendering the figure for the indian-Muslim community is generally understated.

• Batu Caves

• Sri Mahamariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur

• The gopuram of Sri Poyatha Moorthi Temple

• St. Anne's Church in Bukit Mertajam

• Kapitan Keling Mosque in Penang