News: Apostasy – another test for Malaysia’s religious freedom
Apostasy continues to test religious freedom and tolerance. A Malaysian court rejected a woman’s attempt to convert back to Christianity from Islam. The court rejected an application made under her Chinese name arguing that since her conversion to Islam it no longer exists.
Malaysian court rejects woman’s bid to leave Islam
The Associated Press , Kuala Lumpur | Wed, 08/06/2008 5:01 PM | World
“A Malaysian court on Wednesday rejected a Muslim woman’s appeal to convert back to Christianity, the latest case to test the limits of religious freedom in the country.
The Court of Appeal threw out Noorashikin Lim Abdullah’s bid to renounce Islam on technical grounds – that she used her original Chinese name in her suit, her lawyer Edmond Bon said.
The court said the appellant was not legally recognized because her Chinese name – Lim Yoke Khoon – no longer existed following her conversion to Islam in 1994, Bon told The Associated Press.
A Chinese judge on the three-man panel dissented, he said.
‘The court rejected the appeal on technical grounds, not on merit. We believe they are afraid to hear the case’ because of the sensitivity of the issue, Bon said…” (full story Jakarta Post (12 Aug 2008))
The Star online newspaper article on the same trial
Alex McCullie
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