Lina Joy

In 1998, Joy was baptised and applied to have her conversion legally recognised by the Malaysian courts. Though her change of name was recognised in 1999 and so noted on her identity card, her change of religion was not (for lack of a Mahkamah SyariahNote: The Islamic Sharia law is spelled "Syariah" in Malaysian English in accordance with the Malay romanisation system confirmation document). For this reason, she filed suit with the High Court in 1999, bypassing the Syariah court. She later filed suit with the Federal Court in 2006.{{cite news|author=Jalil Hamid and Liau Y-Sing |title=Malaysia braces for ruling on Islam conversion |url=http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1178882006 |publisher=The Scotsman |date=13 August 2006 |access-date=2 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060906220849/http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=1178882006 |archive-date=6 September 2006 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=466&Itemid=34|title=Doing the Impossible: Quitting Islam in Malaysia|publisher=Asia Sentinel|author=Shah Yacob, Imran Imtiaz|date=27 April 2007|access-date=2 May 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927211510/http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=466&Itemid=34|archive-date=27 September 2007|url-status=dead}} Joy hopes to live openly as a Christian; she was forced to go into hiding by the publicity surrounding her case.{{cite news|first=Linda|last= Pressly|title=Life as a secret Christian convert|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/6150340.stm |work=BBC News|date=15 November 2006|access-date=2 May 2007}}

In a majority verdict delivered on 30 May 2007, the Federal Court rejected her appeal.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/5/30/nation/20070530115251&sec=nation|title=Lina Joy Loses Appeal|publisher=theStarOnline|access-date=30 May 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601170354/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2007%2F5%2F30%2Fnation%2F20070530115251&sec=nation|archive-date=1 June 2007|df=dmy-all}} Her appeal was dismissed 2-1 by Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim and Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sherif. The ruling stated that "a person who wanted to renounce their religion must do so according to existing laws or practices of the particular religion. Only after the person has complied with the requirements and the authorities are satisfied that the person has apostatised can they embrace Christianity... In other words, a person cannot at one's whims and fancies renounce or embrace a religion."{{cite news|author=Suaram|title=Lina Joy loses appeal to drop 'Islam' from her NRIC (The Sun)| url=http://www.suaram.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=1|date=30 May 2007|access-date=7 June 2007}}

The dissenting Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Richard Malanjum wrote that "Hence, in my view this is tantamount to unequal treatment under the law. In other words it is discriminatory and unconstitutional and should therefore be struck down. For this reason alone, the relief sought for by the appellant should be granted, namely for a declaration that she is entitled to have an identity card in which the word 'Islam' does not appear."{{cite news|url=http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=18077 |title=Lina Joy loses appeal to drop 'Islam' from her NRIC |publisher=Sun2Surf |access-date=30 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227003825/http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=18077 |archive-date=27 February 2009 }}

Legal recognition would have allowed her to have the change of religion noted on her national identity card. It would also remove the legal barrier to her marrying her Christian fiancé (marriage between Muslim women and non-Muslim men is forbidden under Malaysian law and under the Shariah/Islamic Jurisprudence; the non-Muslim man is required to convert to Islam under Malaysian law; Under Shariah, Muslim men are only allowed to marry Muslims or People of the Book, those who adhere to Abrahamic religions that pre-date Islam, however with conditions and restrictions). In Malaysia, the Shariah Court alone has the power to deal with Islamic issues, including legal recognition for conversion to and from Islam. Conversely, the Shariah Court has no jurisdiction over those who are not Muslims. Joy, by her own admission, is no longer Muslim, but only the Shariah Court can legally recognise this. Conversion is not something unknown, and according to Muslim Lawyers Association spokesman Pawanchek Merican, "...in Negeri Sembilan, the Syariah court allowed 16 people to renounce Islam."The Sun, Thursday 31 May 2007, p. 2.

According to a senior official in the National Registration Department (NRD), for the NRD to change the religion on her identity card would mean that the department would be officially declaring her an apostate, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Shariah Court.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/6/25/focus/14641732&sec=focus |title=All eyes on Lina Joy case |work=The Star (Malaysia) |date=25 June 2006 |access-date=2 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601170623/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2006%2F6%2F25%2Ffocus%2F14641732&sec=focus |archive-date= 1 June 2007 }} The jurisdiction of the Syariah court over converts from Islam to other religions has been hotly debated by the Malaysian public in the past few years, with this and other court cases involving converts closely followed by the media.{{cite news|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/11/courts/17403972&sec=courts |title=Commission to study religious-sensitive cases |work=The Star (Malaysia) |date=11 April 2007 |access-date=2 May 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090226164903/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2007%2F4%2F11%2Fcourts%2F17403972&sec=courts |archive-date=26 February 2009 }} Joy is not the first person to apply for recognition of conversion from Islam. Another woman named only as "Maria" by the BBC is also pursuing a similar case. In 2006, the Negeri Sembilan Syariah High Court in Seremban granted recognition for the conversion from Islam to Buddhism of Wong Ah Kiu (also known as Nyonya Tahir). However, being raised by a Chinese Buddhist family despite her Malay origins, Wong had never practised Islam in her life and was deceased at the time of the ruling.

• Apostasy in Islam
• Freedom of religion in Malaysia
• Christianity in Malaysia
• Conversion to Christianity

{{Reflist|2}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070516113600/http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/20070412085016/Article/index_html "Lina Joy ruling the 'next change', says chief justice"], New Straits Times, 12 April 2007.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090831190113/http://becketfund.org/index.php/case/107.html Becket Fund for Religious Liberty] "Malaysia — State Imposed Religious Designations "
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071023015111/http://www.becketfund.org/files/12abd.pdf Court decides Shariah trumps Catholic baptismal certificate] in violation of International Law and Malaysian Constitutional Law
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081119232813/http://www.islamoholic.com/2007/05/30/pembela-media-statement-on-the-lina-joy-decision/ Media statement on the Lina Joy decision] from PEMBELA (The Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam)

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Category:1964 births

Category:Living people

Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Sunni Islam

Category:Malaysian Roman Catholics

Category:Islam in Malaysia

Category:Islam-related controversies in Asia

Category:Malaysian people of Malay descent

Category:Malaysian people of Javanese descent

Category:Malaysian former Sunni Muslims