KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Existing state laws made it unnecessary to amend the Federal Constitution to specify the Sunni school of Islam as the federation’s creed, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom explained today.

Despite support by Umno colleague Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for the proposal, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs said that Islam’s position was unambiguous within the Constitution while state laws could also be used to further expand on its definition.

“For the matter of states, in Malaysia’s Constitution, it is already clearly stated in Article 3, Islam is the religion of the federation and other religions can be freely practised, and strengthened with state enactments,” Jamil Khir told reporters after launching the National Zakat Month 2013 here.

According to Jamil Khir, states such as Perlis and Kedah have already clearly legislated through enactments that the Sunni school of Islam was the accepted practice there.

Earlier, however, Jamil Khir said that Umno’s constitution would be amended as soon as possible to define Islam as Sunni in a bid to strengthen the party’s struggle.

Last Friday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said a proposal to redefine Islam as “Sunni” in the Federal Constitution would be brought before the government for discussion in a bid to prevent the spread of other Islamic ideologies, including the Shiah sect, in Malaysia.

National newswire Bernama quoted the minister as saying that by inserting the words “Sunnah wal Jamaah” in the definition of Islam in the Federal Constitution, it would ensure that Muslims who follow other ideologies are prohibited from spreading their teachings.

The home minister said the spread of the Shiah ideology is an “issue of faith and national security”, and has been determined by the National Fatwa Council in 1996 that it is a deviant movement that goes against the tenets of Sunnah wal Jamaah, the dominant Islamic ideology in Malaysia.

He claimed that the plan even received the endorsement of a cleric from the holy city of Mecca, and that Malaysia is arguably the first Muslim country to push for a clear stance on its religious ideology.

It is widely accepted that “Sunnah wal Jamaah” is the de-facto ideology adopted by the majority of Muslims in Malaysia, though religious authorities have long grappled with pockets of different sects that have taken root across the country.