SANDWICHED BY RELIGION

Will Malaysia and its politicians take a stand on religious conversions?
(Appeared in Singapore's Today newspaper)

 

Mention "strategic ambiguity"in politics and most would think of the American stance towards China and Taiwan. The United States does not support independence for the latter; yet it is also against use of force by the former. This means both sides can take no action that would unilaterally alter the status quo regarding Taiwan. Beyond that, nothing is clear.

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Malaysia has its own form of strategic ambiguity and it concerns the rights of Muslims to leave their religion. The Constitution guarantees religious freedom. But it does not seem to apply to Muslims.

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Two recent cases illustrate this point. The first case involves Ms Siti Fatimah, or Revathi Masoosai as she prefers to be known as, who was brought up by her Hindu grandmother, even though her parents are Indian Muslims.

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She married a Hindu two years ago, but could not register the marriage as Muslims are not allowed to marry non-Muslims, unless the latter converts to Islam.

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The Sharia Court, which has jurisdiction over Islamic matters, sent Ms Revathi to an Islamic rehabilitation centre for six months.

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She recently went public with her story, claiming she suffered mental torture in the form of continuous counselling sessions. She said she was even served beef, which Hindus are not allowed to eat.

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"I did not do anything wrong but they insisted on rehabilitating me to become a Muslim," she told AFP. "I am a Hindu and I choose to remain this way."

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What will happen to Ms Revathi is unclear. An earlier case saw the nation's secular court reject a woman's bid to get the authorities to recognise her conversion from Islam to Christianity. Ms Azlina Jailani, who calls herself Lina Joy, was also born a Muslim. She fought and lost a battle to have the word "Islam" removed from her identity card.

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The Federal Court earlier this year upheld National Registry Department's (NRD) decision to deny such a change, saying that only the Sharia Court can legally certify her conversion.

The whereabouts of Joy, who has not subject herself to the Sharia Court, is uncertain. Many assume she has gone abroad. 

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Reaction from political leaders has been mixed. Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has obliquely referred to her case, saying that if someone wants to leave Islam, they should be allowed to.

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But such a person, he asserted, would cease to be considered a Malay and would lose the special rights accorded to Malays. The Constitution defines a Malay as someone who practises Islam, adopts Malay culture and speaks Malay.

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Interestingly, Dr Mahathir's rival, former Deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim, said the court decision was right. But Mr Anwar referred to technical matters — that the NRD does not have the authority to allow conversions. Only the Sharia Court can.

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True enough, but the Revathi case should highlight the hazards someone such as Joy would face if she should go before the Sharia Court. Perhaps, it is for this reason Mr Anwar then said that the religious authorities should respect Ms Revathi's wish to be a Hindu.

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Questions have flooded the Internet, asking how this squares with PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's concept of Islam Hadhari (Civilisational Islam), which pledges to be progressive and moderate.

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Mr Abdullah has said that Islamic religious authorities should "be ready to listen and solve the problems... For those who don't want to be Muslims anymore, what can you do?"

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This is hardly an unequivocally firm response, which has neither been hailed nor slammed. Why? Strategic ambiguity.

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Being clearer on the issue could be a political landmine. If Mr Abdullah supports the right of Ms Revathi or Ms Joy to leave the religion, he would be severely criticised by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, the opposition Islamic party that wields influence in the Malay heartland.

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Yet, if he supports the Islamic authorities' hardline approach, he would also lose support among non-Muslims.

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And ask any legal expert whether Muslims in Malaysia are allowed to renounce their faith. You are as likely to get a "yes" as a "no". The answer is not clear at all.

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The Federal Court cannot override the Sharia Court when it comes to Islamic matters. And the Sharia Court generally does not allow Muslims to formally renounce the religion, preferring instead to send them to rehabilitation centres.

 

As a result, people who want to renounce Islam are in a legal limbo. And hence, you have the case of Ms Revathi, whose status is unclear, and Ms Joy, whose whereabouts are unknown.