Catholic Journalist: Interfaith Approach Can Support LGBTQ+ Malaysians

Joseph Masilamany

A Malaysian Catholic journalist has publicly defended the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people in his country, arguing that the shared religion principles of Christians and Muslims urges “mercy, justice, and inclusion” for LGBTQ+ people.  

In his article “Malaysia’s LGBT citizens and their struggle for dignity,” published in Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN), Joseph Masilamany began by outlining the oppression LGBTQ+ Malaysians face.

For example, he described the case of Nur Sajat, a transgender woman, who now lives in exile in Australia. Sajat is a Muslim woman who finally fled Malaysia after years of persecution when she was charged with “insulting Islam” by wearing traditional Malaysian women’s attire during a religious event. 

Masilamany observed that in Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, politics and religion collude to seriously oppress the LGBTQ+ people. But he sees religiion offering an antidote to oppression, in particular from the powerfully worded expressions of Catholic Social Teaching. He wrote:

“The Catholic Church’s teaching is unequivocal: every human being — regardless of identity or sexual orientation — possesses inherent dignity, having been created in the image and likeness of God.

“The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2358) affirms that people with same-sex attraction “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity,” and that “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided…

“Pope Francis, in his encyclical Fratelli Tutti, emphasized the inherent dignity of every human person as the foundation for fraternity and social friendship.

“He spoke often of God’s mercy, urging the Church to be a field hospital for the wounded — not a courtroom for the condemned. This does not require abandoning Church teaching on sexuality. But it does demand that we follow the example of Christ, who dined with the excluded, defended the accused, and loved those whom society had cast out.”

While 61% of Malaysians identify as Muslim, the country also has large populations of Christians and Buddhists, so Masilamany argues in favor of an interfaith LGBTQ+ affirmation. Both Christianity and Islam possess a “powerful shared ethic: we are called to protect the vulnerable, not persecute them,” he stated

Going further, the journalist insists that silence is not an option, that it is incumbent upon people of faith and goodwill to challenge the usurpation of their religions as weapons against LGBTQ+ people:

“When a leader says there is ‘no place’ for a group of people in society, it is not just a political stance. It is a spiritual failure. It signals that exclusion is acceptable — even holy. It warps religion into a tool for moral superiority rather than a mirror of God’s love… 

“The measure of a nation’s moral health is how it treats its most vulnerable. If LGBT Malaysians live in fear — not only of societal rejection but of institutional punishment — then we are failing as a nation rooted in faith, family, and fairness.

“This is not about promoting any ideology. It is about protecting human lives. It is about ensuring that when someone seeks medical help, they are not raided. When someone seeks community, they are not shamed. When someone wears colors, they are not criminalized.”

—Jeromiah Taylor, New Ways Ministry, August 21, 2025