Contrasting approaches to religion in Malaysia

The Malaysian population is about half Malay, all of whom are officially required to be Muslim and perhaps a quarter Chinese, many of whom who maintain Buddhist temples in the styles of south China.

The Chinese aesthetic principle is "More is better," and the "more" is in vibrant color. It occurred to me that the Greek temples were originally as colorful and may have looked more like the Chinese temples than the colorless versions familiar to us.

In the Chinese temple in Kuala Lampur, all are welcome to wander about, photography is permitted and government officials sit at desks just off the main worship area to register marriages.

In contrast, the national mosque of Malaysia, built in the 1960's, is heavily influenced by the twentieth century maxim of "Less is more."  Non-Muslims and photography are limited to the forecourt of the mosque and scrutinized for adequate dress. Inadequate dress is corrected by the addition of head scarves and robes provided by the mosque. Having worn long pants and sleeves below the elbow, I was supplied with only a head scarf. Others received long purple cowled robes, making tourist groups appear to be purple European medieval monks.