Majority Muslim Countries

Despite that, conservative strains of Islam are becoming more prevalent, based on what I hear on the news and from family members. It's not due just to propaganda from Arab fundamentalists, as factors such as rising Hindu nationalism in India and the aging of the independence generation (which was very committed to secularism) are also significant... but there's also no doubt that the proliferation of ideas from the M.E. also plays a role.

Also it is incorrect to say the previous generation of Muslims used to be "secular" and newer generations are becoming more religious. Previous generations of "South Asian" muslims were as fervently religious as today, which can be seen by the countless riots /genocides / massacres that have occurred in the last century.

I'm not saying he's perfect, but he definitely changed in the time between the Partition and the 1971 Liberation War and was much more committed to secularism and Bengali culture than many of the leaders who came after him. Most non-Muslims in Bangladesh (including my family members, who are Christian) still widely revere him.

I still wouldn't call Malaysia liberal or progressive. I don't particularly dislike the country, I just would not attach either of those labels to it. Even considering that it's one of the least Muslim of all these Muslim countries. Also, in recent years they have been moving in the wrong direction, as has much of the Muslim ummah.

Malaysia has the right to free worship, so I'm not quite sure what you mean by blasphemy.

I have seen the Reporters without Borders listings, though I have my doubts as to whether they actually are completely accurate.

Malaysia, to me, is definitely the most progressive and liberal country on this list.

Another example. Look at Albania and Kosovo compared to Serbia. Where would you rather live?

Senegal or Nigeria?

See my point?

Nevertheless, why didn't you choose to compare Italy and Morocco or Japan and Bangladesh?

It is completely pointless to pick two random countries (one muslim, one not) and make one choose which one they'd prefer to live in.

The Malaysian states of Kelantan and Terengganu are governed by a radical Islamic party with the former being a stronghold of said party for many years. From what I’ve heard, “religious police” exist there, enforcing rules such as wearing the hijab. These states have banned women from performing dances publicly and Terengganu even cancelled a music festival last year, calling it “immoral”.

I wouldn’t consider Malaysia to be progressive at all but I’m from Malaysian Borneo where it is very, very tolerant compared to Peninsular Malaysia, so I consider myself lucky as I’m not from the majority Muslim-Malay population. I’m irreligious so this shift towards radicalism is very worrying

Not great company to be in but still easily top 10.

I didn't say that Kosovo had it's own currency. I said they don't use Serbian dinars. Currently they use euros. I guess I was wrong about the military. I looked it up and apparently this was disbanded following independence in 1999. Still, there is no Serbian military presence in Kosovo. Unlike the West Bank which has IDF checkpoints all over the place.

It's amazing how people on the internet just say those kind of things not knowing one single thing about the other person.

... are you talking about yourself? Because... I actually know quite a lot about the person I'm responding to. I've been reading his comments for years. If you knew me better maybe you'd understand that I wouldn't have left the above comment if I was not absolutely certain. But... easier to assume, I guess?

To quote and then paraphrase Sam Harris: the problem with Islamic fundamentalism is the fundamentals of Islam. While granted the Old Testament contains some of the worst books ever written in human history, Christianity has somewhat reformed. Certain flavors of Buddhism can provide a rationale for kamikaze attacks, but in most the logical path to justifying suicide bombing is a tortured one. And the more crazy Jain fundamentalists get... the *less* we have to worry about them.

This is litterally an unbelievable figure. Society there has been more and more secular since at least 40 years, and as of now any figure above 90% would look very suspicious to me. Now, 99.8 ??? Come on...