Financial consultant Miljuan Hadjiran, 38, just wants to practise his religion as he sees fit - but the Islamic authorities will not allow it.
'We are Muslims but they raid us, seize our books and even stop us from praying,' said British-educated Mr Miljuan. 'They won't let us enter a mosque and they won't let us build our own either.'
To the conservative Islamic authorities, Mr Miljuan and his colleagues are deviants because they follow the Ahmadiyya sect which believes in the coming of the Mahadi, the final prophet. The very idea is anathema to the country's conservative Sunni majority who believe Mohammed is the last Prophet. They are increasingly coming down heavily on Muslims who don't strictly toe the mainstream line.
Mr Miljuan was speaking at a forum on Sunday night, attended by 1,000 Muslims and non-Muslims, where he and others spoke of unrelenting harassment.
The forum, called by the Malaysian Bar Council in conjunction with 15 human rights NGOs, also launched a nationwide signature campaign to reaffirm the constitution as the country's supreme document.
The event was attended by academics and lawmakers from both the government and opposition but mainstream newspapers, which are pro-government, played down the event.
