Religion
The variety of religions found is a direct reflection of the diversity of races living in Malaysia. Although Islam is the national religion, freedom of religion is guaranteed. The Malays are almost all Muslims. The Chinese are predominately followers of Taoism and Buddhism though some are Christians. The majority of the region's Indian population comes from the south of India and is mainly Hindu, though a sizable percentage are Muslims and Christians. They are also Sikhs mainly in Peninsular Malaysia. Many indigenous people of east Malaysia have converted to Christianity although others still follow their animist traditions.

The convergence of cultures has its roots during the golden era of the Malacca sultanate, attracting merchants from far regions of the world such as China, India, the Middle East and Europe from the inter marriage of Malays with the Chinese and others sprang the Baba-Nonya and Chetty communities as well as the Portuguese Eurasian community. Each community has different kind of wedding ceremony. The mutual tolerance, accepting and celebration of each other's cultures in Malaysia embodies the essence of Malaysia.

The Languages
Malaysia's official language is Bahasa Malaysia, or Bahasa Melayu. You can also get along quite happily with English throughout Malaysia but the linking language between the various ethnic groups is the Malay language. Other languages include Chinese dialects like Cantonese, Hakka, or Hokkien. The Indians speak Tamil although there are also groups who speak Malayalam, Teleugu, Hindi, or other Indian languages.

Music & Dance
Malaysian music is heavily influenced by Chinese and Islamic forms. The music is based largely around the Gendang (drum), but includes percussion instruments (some made of shells), flutes, trumpets and gongs. The country has a strong tradition of dance and drama, some being of Thai, Indian and Portuguese origin. Other artistic forms include Wayang Kulit' (shadow-puppets), Silat (a stylized martial art) and crafts such as batik, weaving, silver and brassware.

There have been Hindu influences in Malaysia since the dawn of history, but the Hinduism of the Hindu period in Malaysian history has little connection with the Hinduism practiced in the country today. Brahmanical Hinduism which flourished at the courts of petty Malaysian states before the coming of Islam in the 15th century was an aristocratic used to bolster the authority of the ruling class, which was carried across the Indian Ocean by early Hindu traders. Relics and remains from this period have also been found, principally in Kedah.
	Islam came to Malaysia with the Indian traders from South India and was not of the more orthodox Islamic tradition of Arabia. Islam was adopted peacefully by the coastal trading ports people of Malaysia and Indonesia, absorbing rather than conquering existing beliefs. As in many Muslim countries, Islam in Malaysia has seen a significant revival over the past 10 years or so. It is wise for visitors to be appropriately discreet in dress and behaviour, particularly on the more strictly Muslim east coast of the peninsula.
The Chinese religion is a mix of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. Taoism combines with old animistic harmony with the universe. Confucianism takes care of the political and moral aspects of life, while Buddhism takes care of the afterlife. But to say that the Chinese have three religions - Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism - is too simple a view of their traditional religious life.
	International trade in early times played a key role in bringing Christianity to this part of the world. Some Persian traders were Nestorian Christians. Later, in the middle ages, Catholic diplomats, Travelers and priests travelled through the Straits enroute to China. Among the traders residing in Melaka during the Melaka Sultanate in the 15th century were Nestorians and also Armenian Christians from what is today Eastern Turkey.