Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 is Brunei

Brunei

Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...

's official religion, 64 percent of the population is Muslim. mostly Sunnis of Malay

Malay people

Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...

 origin who follow the Shafi school of Islamic law. Most of the other Muslim groups are Kedayan

Kedayan

The Kedayan are an ethnic group residing in Brunei, Labuan, Sabah, and parts of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. They are also known as Kadayan, Kadaian or simply badly spelled as Kadyan by British. The Kedayan language is the de facto national language of Brunei...

s (converts from indigenous tribal groups) and Chinese converts.

Islam was adopted in the 15th century when a Malay Muslim was installed as sultan

Sultan

Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...

. The sultan traditionally was responsible for upholding Islamic traditions, although the responsibility was usually delegated to appointed officials.

Since the 1930s sultans have used rising oil revenues to provide an extensive social welfare system and promote Islam, including subsidizing the Hajj

Hajj

The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...

, building mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

s, and expanding the Department of Religious Affairs.