Malaysia: Sharia Law or Constitution

Tony Blair may think that “the Religion of Peace” is progressive and tolerant, But those forced to live under its syaria laws are still fighting for such basic freedoms as “freedom of religion” and the right to choose who they marry.

Blair on Islam: Standard-Bearer of Tolerance

A quote from Tony Blair in Foreign Affairs, January/February 2007

To me, the most remarkable thing about the Koran is how progressive it is. I write with great humility as a member of another faith. As an outsider, the Koran strikes me as a reforming book, trying to return Judaism and Christianity to their origins, much as reformers attempted to do with the Christian church centuries later. The Koran is inclusive. It extols science and knowledge and abhors superstition. It is practical and far ahead of its time in attitudes toward marriage, women, and governance.

Under its guidance, the spread of Islam and its dominance over previously Christian or pagan lands were breathtaking. Over centuries, Islam founded an empire and led the world in discovery, art, and culture. The standard-bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.

Case in point is Lina Joy (Azlina Jailani) of Malaysia who converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago. She has been fighting ever since to change her “legal” religion from Islam to Christianity on her state identification card. Her identification card identifies her as a Muslim, Which precludes her from marrying a non-muslim. Her fiance is a Christian man.

A summary of her case is on Wikipedia:

The application was rejected in August 1997 on the grounds that the sharia court had not granted permission for her to renounce Islam. Joy appealed this decision in the High Court, arguing that she should not be subject to syaria law, having converted to Christianity. In April 2001, Judge Datuk Faiza Tamby Chik ruled that she could not change her religious identity, because ethnic Malays are defined as Muslims under the Constitution.

Joy then took her case to the Court of Appeal. On 19 September 2005, Justice Abdul Aziz and Justice Arifin Zakaria ruled that the NRD was correct in rejecting Joy’s application and said it was up to the Syaria court to settle the issue.

Her case is on appeal with Malaysia’s highest court.

Malaysia’s status as a moderate Muslim country is being put to the test in a milestone court decision that may allow Muslims to renounce their faith, a move considered one of Islam’s greatest sins. The nation’s highest court is to rule on an appeal by Lina Joy, a convert from Islam to Christianity who for a decade has been locked in a battle with the government to have her decision legally recognised.

The appeal brings to a head passionate arguments about whether Muslims can renounce Islam at will and, ultimately, whether Malaysia is a secular country or is morphing into a conservative Islamic state under religious sharia law.

Her appeal to the federal court centres on whether she must go to a Syaria court to have her renunciation recognised before authorities strike the word “Islam” off her identity card. The court’s ruling is seen as pivotal because it could resolve a paradox in the constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion but defines Malays as Muslims.

A decision on this case is expected in early 2007, which affects many similar cases currently being held in the lower courts waiting for a ruling. I applaud her courage in fighting all these years to change an injustice for converts from Islam under Syaria law. (We won’t go into the fact that she is a woman, which adds even more oppressive rules. If she were male, she would be allowed to marry “people of the book” (Jews, Christians)).

The decision in this case will set a precedent; Does Islamic (Syaria) law and its courts trump the Malaysian constitution and its courts? Reviewing this case and its previous appeals; it is not likely she will be successful and will probably further solidify the stranglehold of “this” religion on Malaysia and its people.


malaysia Lina Joy Azlina Jailani renounce Islam