177:, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Shariah Court. 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. Joy is not the first person to apply for recognition of conversion from Islam. Another woman named only as "Maria" by the
160:. 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
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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
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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
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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
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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."
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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. Joy hopes to live openly as a Christian; she was forced to go into hiding by the publicity surrounding her case.
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descent, she converted at age 26. The Lina Joy case sparkled a debate about apostasy in
Malaysia, and her failed legal attempt to not have her religion listed as "Islam" on her identity card is considered a landmark case in Malaysia.
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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
193:(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.
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apostatised can they embrace
Christianity... In other words, a person cannot at one's whims and fancies renounce or embrace a religion."
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In a majority verdict delivered on 30 May 2007, the
Federal Court rejected her appeal. Her appeal was dismissed 2-1 by Chief Justice Tun
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Malaysian Bar - Lina Joy v Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan & 2 Ors 2005 [CA]
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Legal recognition would have allowed her to have the change of religion noted on her
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is also pursuing a similar case. In 2006, the Negeri
Sembilan Syariah High Court in
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entitled to have an identity card in which the word 'Islam' does not appear."
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in violation of International Law and Malaysian Constitutional Law
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434:"Lina Joy loses appeal to drop 'Islam' from her NRIC (The Sun)"
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from PEMBELA (The Muslim Organisations in Defence of Islam)
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Court decides Shariah trumps Catholic baptismal certificate
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552:"Lina Joy ruling the 'next change', says chief justice"
455:"Lina Joy loses appeal to drop 'Islam' from her NRIC"
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granted recognition for the conversion from Islam to
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Lina Joy affair sparks apostasy debate among Muslims
567:"Malaysia — State Imposed Religious Designations "
350:"Doing the Impossible: Quitting Islam in Malaysia"
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316:"Malaysia braces for ruling on Islam conversion"
520:"Commission to study religious-sensitive cases"
604:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Sunni Islam
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314:Jalil Hamid and Liau Y-Sing (13 August 2006).
280:Path to leave islam simple but far from easy
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348:Shah Yacob, Imran Imtiaz (27 April 2007).
578:Media statement on the Lina Joy decision
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67:Court Challenge re Religious Conversion
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247:Learning from conservatism in Malaysia
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283:, The Malay Mail Online, 12 July 2014
629:Malaysian people of Javanese descent
479:The Sun, Thursday 31 May 2007, p. 2.
380:"Life as a secret Christian convert"
619:Islam-related controversies in Asia
378:Pressly, Linda (15 November 2006).
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624:Malaysian people of Malay descent
564:Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
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526:. 11 April 2007. Archived from
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409:. theStarOnline. Archived from
352:. Asia Sentinel. Archived from
208:Freedom of religion in Malaysia
134:Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim
496:. 25 June 2006. Archived from
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140:The dissenting Chief Judge of
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296:law is spelled "Syariah" in
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490:"All eyes on Lina Joy case"
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457:. Sun2Surf. Archived from
269:, AsiaNews, 20 August 2006
218:Conversion to Christianity
120:legally recognised by the
609:Malaysian Roman Catholics
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634:Malaysian former Muslims
252:21 November 2007 at the
213:Christianity in Malaysia
116:and applied to have her
407:"Lina Joy Loses Appeal"
300:in accordance with the
432:Suaram (30 May 2007).
164:, those who adhere to
158:national identity card
356:on 27 September 2007
530:on 26 February 2009
524:The Star (Malaysia)
494:The Star (Malaysia)
461:on 27 February 2009
326:on 6 September 2006
304:romanisation system
166:Abrahamic religions
91:on 28 July 1964 in
292:Note: The Islamic
162:People of the Book
81:convert from Islam
614:Islam in Malaysia
557:New Straits Times
298:Malaysian English
203:Apostasy in Islam
112:In 1998, Joy was
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42:28 July 1964
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191:Wong Ah Kiu
99:parents of
56:Nationality
588:Categories
224:References
118:conversion
108:Court case
38:1964-07-28
59:Malaysian
385:BBC News
250:Archived
197:See also
187:Buddhism
183:Seremban
175:apostate
114:baptised
101:Javanese
93:Malaysia
74:Lina Joy
49:Malaysia
22:Lina Joy
146:Sarawak
126:Syariah
87:. Born
465:30 May
439:7 June
417:30 May
294:Sharia
148:Datuk
97:Muslim
534:2 May
504:2 May
391:2 May
360:2 May
330:2 May
302:Malay
142:Sabah
78:Malay
76:is a
536:2007
506:2007
467:2007
441:2007
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332:2007
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189:of
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