Malaysia (MNN) — The questioning of two Americans in Malaysia this week is shedding light on the complexity of evangelism in that country. The tourists were allegedly handing out religious pamphlets when they were detained by the police. Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs USA says this incident points to a broader issue in Malaysia: religious freedom being dependent on ethnicity. While ethnically Chinese or Indian citizens, for example, have freedom to exercise certain religious rights, the Malay people are a different story.
“If you are an ethnic Malay, the government says you are a Muslim. You have to be a Muslim. No one should talk to you about not being a Muslim. That ethnicity is sort of seen as off limits for the gospel by the government,” Nettleton says.
Those questioned are not known to be associated with mainstream American Christianity. But Nettleton points out:
“In the minds of most of the Muslim world, to be an American is to be a Christian.”
In Malaysia, it’s not just the Malay people who are facing pressure. Hannah Yeoh is a member of Malaysia’s cabinet. Despite being ethnically Chinese, she’s taking flack for a book she authored which mentions her involvement with a Christian discipleship group in college. She is one of few Christians who hold positions of authority in Malaysia.
“The fact that so many people seem to be so threatened by that is a very interesting insight into the country and into the pressure that our brothers and sisters there are facing,” Nettleton says.
He says we need to be praying that Malaysian believers would grow in and share their faith.
“They know there is pressure against them. They know there is a risk in that, and so I think we can pray for continued boldness and encouragement,” Nettleton says.
We can also pray that authorities would come to Christ.
Courtesy of Umaraffan via Pexels
“Because I think as we see people in authority living out that Christian faith, it really can have an impact on the entire country,” he says.
While there is a place for street evangelism, these kinds of endeavors can’t replace the long work of ministry in Malaysia.
“It is not one conversation. It is many conversations,” Nettleton points out. “It is not just meeting someone in a supermarket. It’s a cup of tea and then another cup of tea and then a chance to pray for them in the name of Jesus and to see Jesus answer that prayer. Yes, there is a place for gospel tracts. There is absolutely a place for people who are on vacation to have conversations about faith to hopefully plant some gospel seeds. But in terms of the effort to really reach the Malay people, that is a long-term commitment that is going to require people to have long term relationships with Malay people.”
Featured photo courtesy of Deva Darshan via Unsplash
