Islam in Brunei

The Great Mosque in Brunei

Islam is Brunei's official religion, 82.70 percent of the population is Muslim, mostly Sunnis of Malay origin who follow the Shafi school of Islamic law. Most of the other Muslim groups are Malay Brunei, Malay Kedayans (converts from indigenous tribal groups) and Chinese converts.

History

Islam was adopted in the 15th century when a Malay Muslim was installed as sultan. The sultan traditionally was responsible for upholding Islamic traditions, although the responsibility was usually delegated to appointed officials.

Since the 1930s sultans have used rising oil revenues to provide an extensive social welfare system and promote Islam, including subsidizing the Hajj, building mosques, and expanding the Department of Religious Affairs.

With the constitution in 1959, Islam became the official religion of the country.

On 30 April 2014, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah announced the implementation and enforcement of the first phase of Sharia law in Brunei starting 1 May 2014.

Conversions To Islam

Conversions by District

District	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Brunei Muara	234	281	260	269	256	300	245	242	203	204	152
Belait	153	161	115	94	124	130	94	110	67	74	109
Tutong	125	175	124	88	129	132	130	102	112	104	64
Temburong	21	25	37	18	29	23	45	18	27	22	22
Total:	533	642	536	469	537	585	514	472	409	404	347

From 2009-2019, there have been 5,448 individuals who have converted to Islam in Brunei.

Conversions By Ethnicity

Ethnicity	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Dusun	151	154	131	103	149	164	141	122	108	110	102
Murut	14	20	11	14	10	7	12	12	4	13	4
Iban	173	208	149	136	130	139	134	115	109	99	111
Chinese	61	74	63	58	80	78	66	75	60	70	47
Other	134	186	182	158	168	197	161	148	128	112	83
Total:	533	642	536	469	537	585	514	472	409	404	347

See also

• Malay Islamic identity
• Mosques in Brunei