KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 12 -- The definition of Islam according to the Federal Constitution should be left broad and not confined to any one interpretation for the sake of a peaceful co-existence, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said today.

Its commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus said Article 3 of the Constitution establishes Islam as the religion of the federation, but does not provide any specify anything beyond that, including denomination or school of jurisprudence.

"It does not say whether it should be Sunni Islam, and if so which mazhab (school of jurisprudence).

"So in my personal view it should not be confined to Sunni Islam, especially in relation to the Sunni-Shiah divide," Hishamudin, a former Cour...