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Malaysia Edges Towards Islamic Law
Malaysia's highest court yesterday refused to recognise a Muslim woman's conversion to Christianity, ruling that the country's secular courts were not able to deal with the matter, and that her case be heard by the religious authorities instead.
The ruling is being seen as a defeat for secularism in the Asian nation, where an estimated sixty percent of the population is Muslim.
The IHT reports that while Malaysia appears among the Islamic world's most progressive democracies, many Muslims feel that Islamic law should over-rule secular law in certain areas of their lives. It now seems they want sharia to apply to non-Muslims, or at least former Muslims in their midst, too.
The court ruled 2-1 against the defendant: Both judges in the majority were Muslim, while the only non-Muslim in the court argued passionately that Malaysia's highest law should be constitutional and secular.
Malaysian chief justice, Ahmad Fairuz Abdul Halim, said in his ruling, "She cannot at her own whim simply enter or leave her religion."
The IHT continues,
"The ruling exhausted the last appeal of Lina Joy, who, after being baptized a Roman Catholic in May 1998, wanted to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card in order to marry her Catholic fiancé. Muslims in Malaysia are subject to separate laws on inheritance and marriage - they must marry within the faith - and are not allowed to have premarital relationships or drink alcohol, among other rules. Because separate laws apply to them, Muslims must list their religion on their identity cards."
Ms Joy's family has reportedly been harassed by fanatics and she is believed to have applied for asylum in Australia.
While secularists and represents of other religions registered their dismay at the court's ruling, Islamist students outside the court rejoiced with cries of "God is great."
