Introduction

Framed within a human rights discourse, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and queer people (LGBTQ) identity politics in Malaysia is relatively young. Their fledgling struggle is juxtaposed against the rising ethno-religious politics of a self-righteous, purist, misogynist, and supremacist interpretation of Sunni Islam (Hassan, 2008: 49–54, 286–287). LGBTQ narratives of identity jar Malaysia's internationally projected image as a model Islamic country despite being a country that is constitutionally secular (see chapter by Mohd Nazim). Unlike neighbouring Indonesia where 99 per cent of Muslims are Sunni and follow the same Islamic school of thought as Malaysia, the Shafee school of Sunni jurisprudence, Malaysia's Islam is a ‘Malaysian Malay Islam’. It is an increasingly puritanical Sunni Islam, dictated by the seasoned political dominance of the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) in retaining their political control over the country since 1957. As a result, the State disallows both interand intra-religious pluralism, and discourages public discourse on both the interpretation of Islamic texts and how sharia law is developed and implemented in the country. The interpretation of Malaysia's Islam dictates heterosexuality, and increasingly heteronormativity that upholds patriarchal norms, as the only sexuality to which Malaysians must conform (Lee, 2011: 97–108). Malaysia's Federal Constitution protects the right of equality before the law and therefore all persons are entitled to equal protection of the law. However, LGBTQ-identified Malaysians strive to be accorded this very right, and to enjoy – as others do – equality in the law, and equal benefits and protection of the law.

This chapter begins with the Malaysian context of the politicisation of Islam, despite a sizeable 39 per cent of the Malaysian population being non-Muslims, and the State's growing emphasis on relying more heavily on an Arabised and legislated Islam, an Islam that is constitutionally protected as the ‘official religion’ of Malaysia. The chapter then explores Malaysia's selfidentification as an Islamic State which is entrenched in the ethno-religious politics of UMNO's elite against the growing amplification of LGBTQ narratives between 2008 and 2015. This chapter then goes on to elaborate the beginnings of the sexuality rights movement in Malaysia.