Date: Tuesday 13 May 2008
Subj: Malaysia: the Great Apostasy Debate stirs again.
To: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty News & Analysis
From: WEA RLC Principal Researcher and Writer, Elizabeth Kendal
MALAYSIA: THE GREAT APOSTASY DEBATE STIRS AGAIN
On 8 May, media across the world ran with the news: "Malaysian woman can
leave Islam." (BBC headline) Jurist, which re****ts legal news,
commented: "Religious rights groups hailed the decision as a landmark
ruling for interfaith relations." (Link 1)
Judge Othman Ibrahim's 8 May 2008 ruling in Penang's Syariah High Court,
whereby Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah (Tan Ean Yuang) (39) was granted leave
to revert from Islam to Buddhism, is indeed a landmark ruling. But
before getting too excited, religious liberty advocates should consider
the following:
1) The finer details of the ruling make it unlikely that it could be a
precedent for many other cases.
2) A significant element of the ruling was the judge's castigation of
the Islamic authorities for failing to save the plaintiff's faith.
3) This case is not over yet. The Penang state religious council, which
is opposing the plaintiff's renunciation of Islam, has indicated that it
is preparing to launch an appeal.
4) For religious liberty advocates it remains absolutely unacceptable
that any Malaysian citizen should have to get permission from a Sharia
(Islamic) Court before they can change their religious identity.
----------------------
THE PENANG RULING
The plaintiff, an ethnic Chinese Malaysian woman named Tan Ean Yuang
(39), converted from Buddhism to Islam in 1998 in order to marry an
Iranian Muslim named Ferdoun Ashanian. Tan subsequently took the Islamic
name of Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah and the couple married in 2004. The
marriage only lasted four months and Siti claims that she has had no
knowledge of her husband's whereabouts since he deserted her.
In May 2006 Siti filed an application to renounce Islam and revert to
Buddhism. The court however "ordered that she learn more about Islam and
undergo three months of counselling with the Penang Islamic Religious
Department's unit ukhwah (brotherhood) to ensure she understood the
religion. However, she only attended the session once and remained
steadfast in wanting to revert to Buddhism." (Link 2)
On Thursday 8 May 2008, in the Syariah High Court in Penang, judge
Othman Ibrahim ruled in favour of Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah. While he
noted that apostasy is a great sin in Islam deserving of severe
punishment even death, he ruled that Siti was free to return to Buddhism
on the grounds that she had never practised Islam, and therefore the
court could regard her as a non-believer (kafir) and not an apostate
(murtad). Siti's lawyer remarked that "the ruling was im****tant because
it accepted that Muslims could renounce Islam on the grounds that they
had never practised the faith". (Link 3)
As the ruling rested on the plaintiff's alleged non-practice of Islam,
it can be assumed that had any Muslim testified to the contrary, Tan's
application would not have been successful.
Clearly this ruling will not provide a precedent for converts who have
practised Islam -- converts like Soon Singh, a Malaysian Sikh who
converted to Islam as a minor but in 1999, at the age of 21 years,
sought redress through the courts to renounce Islam and return to
Sikhism. Soon Singh's appeal was denied and the court ruled not only
that all Muslims should have "Islam" printed on their identity cards,
but that Sharia courts should have jurisdiction over all matters
concerning Islam. This ruling became the precedent for all subsequent
appeals against apostasy. (See link 4)
A SITUATION THE JUDGE BELIEVES SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED
When delivering his ruling, judge Othman Ibrahim regretted that Siti's
Iranian husband had failed her by failing to guide her in her new faith.
He then castigated the Penang Islamic Religious Council for neglecting
its duties and failing to "save" Siti's faith in Islam. "It is their
obligation to encourage, sup****t, help and ensure that new converts
understand and follow Islamic teachings. However, in this case nothing
was done until the last moment when it was already too late." (Link 5)
According to Malaysia's The Star online, PAS [Parti Islam se-Malaysia]
is protesting the decision. "PAS vice-president Nasharudin Mat Isa said
renouncing Islam was forbidden, unless one had been forced to embrace
Islam under duress. 'If one has embraced Islam out of one's own free
will, then one must be subject to Islamic law, and the law forbids the
renouncing of Islam because it touches on one's faith in the religion,'
he said." (Link 6)
The Malay Mail notes: "Only last week both BN [Barisan Nasional] and PAS
members of Parliament had argued that once you enter Islam there is no
turning back, not just for born Muslims, but also for converts." (Link 7)
Clearly PAS and the ruling BN government of PM Badawi are not interested
in advancing religious liberty. It can therefore be expected that this
ruling will not only stir the Great Apostasy Debate but initiate a
debate about conversion procedures so that conversions to Islam are
legally secure.
While Judge Ibrahim did 'tear up' Tan's certificate of conversion to
Islam he did not grant her application to have a new identity card
issued, saying that was a matter for the National Registration
Department (NRD).
The NRD is unlikely to issue Tan a new identity card while the Penang
state Religious Council is planning to appeal the ruling. "The council's
counsel Ahmad Munawir Abdul Aziz said the council would appeal within
the 14-day period, adding that among the concerns was the status of Siti
Fatimah's marriage as her conversion did not dissolve the marriage."
(Link 8)
If the ruling is appealed, then Tan may find she has injured her case by
stating in her affidavit that she "stopped practising Islam" after her
husband left her. (Link 7)
NO GAIN
Ultimately the ruling does not advance religious liberty in Malaysia --
it merely perpetuates the unacceptable status quo whereby in matters
concerning Islam the religious liberty guarantees of the federal
Constitution are deemed subordinate to the rulings of state-run Sharia
Courts.
Malaysian lawyer A Sivanesan cautions: "This is a landmark decision and
gives relief to Tan. However, non-Muslims should not be complacent with
this decision. The real remedy for them is for the civil court to
bravely uphold constitutional guarantees." (Link 7)
The best this ruling can do is to stir up Malaysia's Great Apostasy
Debate once again.
Elizabeth Kendal
Links
1) Malaysian woman can leave Islam. BBC, 8 May 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7389874.stm
Malaysia Islamic Court Allows Reconversion from Islam
Jurist, 8 May 2008
http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/05/malaysia-islamic-court-allows.php
2) Syariah court allows convert to renounce Islam
By Sharanjit Singh, New Straits Times
(Picture: Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah with lawyer Ahmad Jailani Abdul
Ghani.)
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/2235294/Article/index_html
3) Malaysia woman scores rare legal win to quit Islam. 8 May 2008
http://www.reuters.com/article/sphereNews/idUSKLR29947320080508?sp=true&view=sphere
4) Malaysia: The Islamisation of Malaysia
WEA RLC News & Analysis. 8 June 2007
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/news/view.htm?id=1166
5) Judge: Council failed in duty to guide converts
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/2235317/Article/index_html
6) MCA hails court decision. 9 May 2008
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/9/nation/21197271&sec=nation
7) A precedent for converts. Malay Mail, 9 May 2008
http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Friday/Opinions/20080509105658/Article/index_html
8) Syariah High Court lets Muslim convert renounce Islam and go back to
Buddhism
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/9/nation/21194502&sec=nation
-----------------------------------------
**WEA Religious Liberty News & Analysis**
<Religious-Liberty@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
-----------------------------------------
Please feel free to pass this along to others giving attribution to:
"World Evangelical Alliance - Religious Liberty News & Analysis."
|
