Malaysias highest court ruled today in a split decision that a
Kuala Lumpur woman who renamed herself Lina Joy has lost her
12-year fight to legally become a Christian. According to Malaysian
law, Joy will remain a Muslim whether she wants to or not, and her
religious status will remain on her identity card. Justice Richard
Malanjun, a Christian, dissented in the ruling.
The outcome of the case was hardly unexpected, given Malaysia's
religious and ethnic history. A crowd of about 300 Muslims waited
outside, reading the Koran and chanting as Federal Court Chief
Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim delivered the judgment to a
packed courtroom in the administrative capital Putrajaya, saying
that jurisdiction over Joys case remains with Malaysias syariah,
or religious court. As the decision was being read, the shout
Allahu Akhbar resounded through the Palace of Justice.
Joy, 43, remains a recluse, fearing retaliation in Malaysias
always edgy religious and ethnic atmosphere. She cannot legally
marry her non-Muslim partner, a cook, because the law requires
non-Muslims to convert to Islam if they wish to marry someone of
that faith. She has not spoken to the press since her case became
public. She converted to Christianity when she was 26.
In 1999, although Joy succeeded in getting officials to change her
name on her MyKad, a national identification card that must state
the bearers religion, she was unsuccessful in having the word
Islam removed. That was what brought her to the federal court,
which considered three questions: Whether syriah court
certification was needed before the National Registration
Department could change the religious affiliation on Joy's ID card,
whether the NRD correctly construed its powers when it imposed the
above requirement, which is not expressly provided for in the
regulations and most importantly, whether the syriah courts'
authority took precedence over the civil courts in cases where
Muslims renounced their faith.
Although the case was decided nearly a year ago, the federal court
delayed its public ruling, partly because of the thorny legal
issues and the question of whether the countrys federal courts
should defer to syariah law. Despite the fact that Malaysia is
largely a moderate Islamic country, only about 60 percent of its
citizens are Muslims, existing in an uneasy balance with the mostly
Chinese Christian, Buddhist or Taoist minority who make up about 25
percent of the population. Indians and other minorities make up
another 11 percent.
Authorities earlier this week were urging calm, as were Muslim
religious leaders. The victory in court should defuse any further
concerns, although Christian opponents were expected to be holding
silent vigils and issuing statements. The reform organization
Aliran issued a statement saying that: "The freedom of religion
guaranteed by the Federal Constitution under Article 11 comes
across as hollow and meaningless. This decision has totally
rendered null and void the freedom of religion guaranteed by the
Federal Constitution. Under the circumstances, the Federal Courts
decision has a devastating effect on issues of fairness and
justice. Concerned citizens will rightly wonder whether the
judiciary is capable of delivering justice for those who turn to
it. They will be turned away from the judicial system of the
country thinking that the judges who are sworn to uphold the
Federal Constitution in the course of their duty are not living up
to their oath of office."
It is not possible to be an ethnic Malay in Malaysia without being
a Muslim. Apostasy or conversion is a punishable offence in most
states, either with a fine or a jail sentence or both. Muslims
dominate most of the public institutions and have done so since
bloody 1969 riots that officially killed 192 persons on both sides
of the ethnic divide, but are presumed to have killed hundreds
more
Despite the fact that one clause of the countrys original federal
constitution guarantees freedom of religion, another, added later,
states that State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of
Kuala Lumpur and Labuan, federal law may control or restrict the
propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons
professing the religion of Islam." Generally, the government has
sought to stay out of the issue and has referred questions over
apostasy or conversion to the countrys syariah. Not surprisingly,
the syariah courts have ruled unanimously that ethnic Malays must
remain Islamic.
Malaysia, however, is on an increasingly secular path on all sides
of the ethnic and religious divide. On a breakneck path to
modernization for the past 25 years, urban citizens of all ethnic
groups have become more secular, with young Malays adopting
miniskirts, jeans and all the accoutrements that go with modern
lifestyles. Religious and government leaders have watched that with
increasing concern.
Accordingly and especially with the departure of former Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an authoritarian figure who largely kept
ethnic concerns isolated -- official Islam is stiffening its
resistance. The syariah courts have particularly refused to budge
on any issues involving a change of religion. One woman, Kamariah
Ali, who joined a sect and publicly renounced Islam in 1999, was
ordered jailed in 2005 on charges of insulting Islam.
.
Then, last year, a mountaineering hero and Army corporal named
Manyan Moorthy died of cancer and was buried in a Muslim cemetery
with Muslim rites despite the fact that his wife insisted he had
never converted. The civil High Court ruled that it could not
overrule the syariah court that had declared him a Muslim.
Religious tensions have occasionally flared. Last November, Muslims
gathered outside a Catholic church in Ipoh after text messages that
the church was preparing to baptize a group of Malays, including a
celebrated yachtsman, Azhar Mansor, who had sailed around the world
single-handedly in 1999 without an engine. Azhar, who no longer
lives in Malaysia, is widely believed to be a quietly practicing
Christian although he has denied it. Although the SMS proved to be
false, authorities were forced to move in to forestall violence.
Unverified accusations of mass conversions into Christianity by
Malays have been swirling in the press and blogs, further stoking
the fire.
The attorney generals chambers announced recently that it was
considering establishing a commission to study religious-sensitive
cases like Joys, said Minister in the Prime Ministers Department
Nazri Abdul Aziz. The commission, if it comes to into existence, is
expected to include religious leaders of all faiths. The government
wants a system in which disputes such as conversion, especially
when it involves children, can be addressed in an extra legal
manner.'
The most recent incident that has gripped Malaysians and make
international headlines is the forced separation of a Muslim woman,
Siti Fatimah, from her husband, Suresh Veerapan, who contended that
Siti was no longer a Muslim and in fact a practicing Hindu born to
Muslim parents, and that her name is actually Revathi Masoosai.
Islamic religious officials charged Siti Fatimah with committing
apostasy and ordered for her sent to a rehabilitation center for
almost 100 days. Her detention was extended another 80 days in
April. In an interview with the television network Al Jazeera, Siti
Fatimahs mother said she would raise the couples 15-month-old
granddaughter as a Muslim.
