![]() Ms Joy was disowned by her family and forced to quit her job |
A three-judge panel ruled that only the country's Sharia Court could let Azlina Jailani, now known as Lina Joy, remove the word Islam from her identity card.
Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of worship but says all ethnic Malays are Muslim. Under Sharia law, Muslims are not allowed to convert.
Ms Joy said she should not be bound by that law as she is no longer a Muslim.
Death threats
Malaysia's Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said the panel endorsed legal precedents giving Islamic Sharia courts jurisdiction over cases involving Muslims who want to convert.
About 200 protesters shouted "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is great) outside the court when the ruling was announced.
"You can't at whim and fancy convert from one religion to another," Ahmad Fairuz said.
Ms Joy's case has tested the limits of religious freedom in Malaysia.
She started attending church in 1990 and was baptised in 1998.
In 2000, Ms Joy, 42, went to the High Court after the National Registration Department refused to remove "Islam" from the religion column on her identity card. The court said it was a matter for Sharia courts. Tuesday's ruling marked the end of her final appeal.
Ms Joy has been disowned by her family and forced to quit her job. She went into hiding last year. A Muslim lawyer who supported her case received death threats.
Sharia courts decide on civil cases involving Malaysian Muslims - nearly 60% of the country's 26 million people - while ethnic minorities such as Chinese and Indians are governed by civil courts in the multi-racial country.Well, this was expected. Again, the sanctity of the Federal Constitution as the ruling law over all Malaysian citizens is violated. It is ironic that the dominant group in Malaysia, the Muslims, are not given the right to choose to enter or exit their own religion. Freedom of religion is a basic human right; yet, even the most powerful group in Malaysia are not accorded that simple right.
Is there a silver lining in this dismal event? Perhaps...possible riots were averted. But, how long can they keep this up? Might the Malay Muslims rise up to demand the right to choose their own religion? Most probably not...probably because many perceive that the cost of a human right is a small price to pay for an uncountable number of advantages--political, cultural, and social. Correct me if I'm wrong...but Prophet Muhammad never forced Muslims to remain Muslims. It was not a legal crime to commit apostasy.