Beyond Tolerance: What It Takes to Build a More Harmonious Malaysia
In a country as diverse as Malaysia, living together peacefully requires more than simply accepting that differences exist. It requires understanding, mutual respect, continuous dialogue and, importantly, knowing how to navigate sensitive religious and cultural boundaries without compromising one’s own identity.
This is where research led by Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah Binti Mohd Khambali @ Hambali of the Department of Usuluddin and Da’wah, Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, has the potential to make a meaningful difference.
Her work, “Konseptualisasi Tasamuh (Toleransi) Masyarakat Madani Dalam Konteks Dialog Peradaban,” explores tasamuh not simply as tolerance, but as a practical approach to building meaningful relationships among people of different religions, ethnicities and cultural backgrounds.
The research comes at an important time. Malaysia continues to encounter challenges involving religious sensitivities, misunderstandings and provocative content, particularly on social media. Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah highlights how seemingly small actions or insensitive statements can affect relationships between communities. Her work therefore raises an important question: How can Malaysians respect one another’s differences while remaining true to their own religious and cultural identities?
Finding the answer requires more than studying books.
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Encourage conversations among the diverse Madani community at the International Conference on Civilisational Dialogue 2025 (ICONCIDI25). | |
Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah and her research team have engaged extensively with people who experience and understand these issues from very different perspectives. The wider Garis Panduan Tasamuh Masyarakat Multi-Etnik Malaysia (GPT3M) research draws on literature reviews, interviews, surveys and focus group discussions involving religious scholars, muftis, legal experts, educators, policymakers, media representatives and leaders from different faith communities.
This is particularly important because conversations about religion and identity demand great sensitivity. Different communities may understand the meaning and boundaries of tolerance differently. Finding common ground therefore requires more than agreement; it requires listening carefully, acknowledging disagreements and ensuring that different perspectives are represented fairly.
The team has organised major focus group discussions involving experts in Aqidah, Fiqh, law and education, alongside representatives from Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Bahá’í and Soka Gakkai communities. Such engagement captures an important principle at the heart of the research: harmony cannot be designed from behind a desk—it must be built through conversations with the people who experience Malaysia’s diversity every day.
Its potential impact reaches far beyond academia.
The research is working towards practical guidelines and a Malaysian model of tasamuh that could contribute to education, community programmes and policymaking. One important direction is to introduce these principles through education, enabling younger Malaysians to learn from an early age how to understand differences, communicate respectfully and live harmoniously with others.
At the community level, its message is refreshingly simple: meaningful dialogue does not always take place at conferences or around formal discussion tables. It happens when neighbours greet one another, colleagues work side by side, communities help each other, and Malaysians respectfully share everyday spaces and important moments in life.
Ultimately, Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah’s research reminds us that Malaysia’s diversity should not be viewed merely as something that needs to be managed. When supported by knowledge, empathy and meaningful dialogue, our differences can become one of our greatest strengths.
Perhaps that is the most meaningful contribution of this research: transforming tasamuh from an academic concept into a living practice—something Malaysians can embrace in schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and everyday life.
SDGs addressed:
 | SDG 4: Quality Education by promoting greater understanding of religious and cultural diversity through education |
 | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions by encouraging respectful dialogue, social harmony and more inclusive communities across Malaysia. |
Researcher featured:
Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah Binti Mohd Khambali @ Hambali
Department of Usuluddin and Da’wah
Academy of Islamic Studies
Area of Expertise: Comparative Religion>
Humanities, Religious Studies, Religions of The World, Other Human and Societal Actualisation N.E.C > Human And Societal Resilency, Human And Societal Actualisation
Get to know the researcher:
Datin Paduka Professor Dr. Khadijah Mohd Khambali @ Hambali is a Professor at the Academy of Islamic Studies, Universiti Malaya, with expertise in comparative religion, religious studies, interfaith dialogue and Islamic thought. She has produced more than 318 publications and has shared her expertise through academic and professional engagements nationally and internationally.
Her work extends beyond academia into strengthening interfaith understanding and social harmony. She is serving as the Director of the Universiti Malaya Centre of Civilisational Dialogue and has contributed her expertise to various national religious and advisory bodies. Her research on tasamuh (tolerance) explores how mutual respect, justice, empathy and meaningful dialogue can help Malaysia's multi-religious and multi-ethnic communities live together harmoniously while respecting religious principles and community identities.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Email: ijamh@um.edu.my
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5445-1929
Author:
Mageswary Manickam
Research Outreach and Visibility Centre (OVIS), JPP, UM
Copyeditor:
Siti Farhana Bajunid Shakeeb Arsalaan Bajunid, Assistant Registrar, UM
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