A COMMUNITY OF REVERTS IN PERKIM, MALAYSIA: OF SOCIO RELIGIOUS ADAPTATION
The complexity between one's religious and ethnic identity in Malaysia needs to be mitigated through education. Even after over six decades of declaring independence, racial and religious prejudice in Malaysia is still rampant. The purpose of this research was therefore to shed light on intercultural communication that occurs amongst a community of Muslim reverts in PERKIM Bahagian Wilayah Persekutuan, who previously came from various different languages, cultural and religious backgrounds. An ethnographic qualitative approach was used in order to address the objective of the paper by employing observations, interviews and document analyses. The study focuses on the Islamic faith as the one true religion and its new adherents on how they cope with life after conversion. The findings revealed a complicated relationship between religious and racial identity in a country which prides itself in religious and racial diversity. The paper concluded by proposing the notion of unity in diversity as the foundation of unification and harmony amongst Malaysians; which is achievable through mutual religious understanding; which essentially can be taught and learned.