Aqidah as a Basis of Social Tolerance: The Malaysian Experience

The purpose of Islam is to develop exceptional human beings based on aqidah. Those with faith will have good life and will, in turn, have a positive influence on people around them. In Malaysia, aqidah forms the basis of Islamic education. Its main objective is to produce students who have God-consciousness in all aspects of life. This survey was carried out by way of questionnaire among secondary school students. The interview method was also used with selected students, teachers and officers from the Ministry of Education. The paper will discuss the influence of aqidah on students in three parts. First is the extent of knowledge of aqidah among the students, second is the relationship between the knowledge of aqidah and students’ social life, and finally, the impact of aqidah on students’ behaviour. This paper concludes that aqidah has a great impact upon students’ social activities.