After the Lina Joy case, I have little hope for that. But this ruling may indicate some movement.

A Malaysian Islamic court allowed a Muslim convert Thursday to return to her original faith of Buddhism, setting a precedent that could ease religious minorities' worries about their legal rights.

Lawyers said the Shariah High Court's verdict in the northern state of Penang was the first time in recent memory that a convert has been permitted to legally renounce Islam in this Muslim-majority nation.

A rising number of disputes about religious conversions has sparked anxiety among minorities _ predominantly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu _ because in the past courts virtually always ruled against people seeking to leave Islam.

Penang's Shariah court, however, granted Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah's request to be declared a non-Muslim. She embraced Islam in 1998 because she wanted to marry an Iranian, but claimed she never truly practiced the religion.

"I am very happy," Siti, a 39-year-old ethnic Chinese cake seller, told The Associated Press by telephone. "I want to go to the temple to pray and give thanks."

The Shariah court, which governs Muslims' personal conduct and religious lives, ruled that Siti's husband and Islamic authorities failed to give her proper religious advice.

"So you can't blame her for her ignorance of the teachings and wanting to convert out," said Ahmad Munawir Abdul Aziz, a lawyer for the Islamic Affairs Council in Penang.

So this means that some members of the Muslim community -- but only those who began their lives in another faith -- will have a right enshrined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Unfortunately, those born and raised as Muslims who recognize the truth of Christianity and therefore reject the false teachings of Muhammad will still be subject to arrest, imprisonment, and death at the hands of sharia courts that operate with government sanction -- meaning that for the majority of Malaysians, true religious freedom is still denied.

Posted by: Greg at 10:20 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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