Converts to non-Islamic faiths in Malaysia can be detained for more than three months in ‘Faith Purification Centres’, according to a report released in July.
And there are growing concerns that the impact of Shari’a courts and use of these camps could expand as strict Islam gains traction in the country.
Islamic penal code
In May the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party introduced a strict Islamic penal code, known as hudud law, to be debated in October, which would be applied to Muslims by Shari’a courts.