Why some Silat don't teach non-Muslims

There are three main reasons a silat style will train only Muslims: Trust, Secrecy and Content.

Trust means that somewhere in history, every successive master was given specific instructions to only teach Muslims as a method of empowering them. Since non-Muslims already have their own martial styles, thus Muslims also need to have one that is specific for their needs. This amanah is considered sacred and often carried out to the letter.

Because the majority of Malays in Malaysia are Muslim, and being Malay generally means being Muslim, this amanah has often been erroneously extended only to Malays by some hardliner masters who misinterpret the original amanah.

The second reason is Secrecy. Silat was born as a martial art, meaning it was a valid and practical method of war. As all nations and cultures on Earth, we seek to keep secret our nation's abilities and strengths to deter our enemies from designing a counteroffense that will render our methods useless.

This has been nominal human culture, as one national develops more strategic tactics and effective weapons against an inferior enemy. Thus, the tradition of secrecy from opponents, who are normally non-Muslims, the heritage of Badr, the Crusades and the colonisation of South East Asia survives to this day in silat styles.

The third reason is Content. Much of these styles incorporate, as a total method of self-development, solat, sawm and other obligatory Islamic practices to ensure that the pesilat they produce is a moral fighter. In fact, many masters in the past were primarily religious teachers who prepared their students for war, thus the silat aspect became secondary and incidental.

So, it would be dishonest to agree to accept a non-Muslim who will be forced to perform salat, dua, realign his heart to Allah and Rasulullah and many more. It is much easier to say that they don't accept non-Muslims.