As you all have probably known, the Federal Court ruled yesterday that Lina Joy has to get the Sharia court to endorse her conversion out of Islam in order for her to remove the word ‘Islam’ on her I/C.

This is my opinion on the matter.  I am a Christian.
It is kinda ironic that I’m writing about Christian-Islam relations on a Wesak day. But I first knew about the Lina Joy case about 5 years back. My first impressions was that she was a very brave lady. Many Malay Christians have opted for a quieter life. Without trying to diminish the sacrifices other converts from Islam have made, but I have to say I admire her for what she did and believed.

To me she believed that every man and woman is responsible for their own choices. Lina Joy, born a Malay as Azlina Jailani must have believed that religion is a personal choice.  You do not inherit your religion from your parents.

Now this may be almost an axiom for most of us. Contemporary opinion has it that religion is a private matter.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia, the majority Malay population who happen to be Muslim do not think so. Islam is a way of life- a total way of life. One from which there is no turning away. It is the logical outcome of a faith convinced of its truth and a religion in which there is no separation between the private and public life.

Irregardless of Lina’s personal reasons for battling this case all the way to the highest court in Malaysia,  one thing is certain: Because of the majority Malay sentiment and the majority court decision, she has to continue to live in fear and in hiding. Her right to live freely has been curtailed whilst others live normally. Isn’t this injustice? How apt for a secular court to pronounce a ‘prison sentence’ of sorts for an apostate from Islam. 

Recent incidents, including Lina Joy’s case has made me realize there are two, perhaps three, parrallel societies happening to live in Malaysia. One is a sophisticated, liberal and almost secular people give and take a little religion here and there, another is the Islamic community-and the last, the poor. The classification is crude, but will serve my point nonetheless.

The point is identity. Who are you? The court thinks, and most Malays think that she (Lina) is a Malay and therefore a Muslim. She thinks she is no longer a part of the Islamic community by the simple virtue that she has made a choice based on conscience. The question is whose thinking will the court uphold? We have seen here that the judges think that the former is correct.

I believe that the 2-1 decision against Lina’s favour was the wrong one, as I have argued above. I think it was a cowardly decision. As it was not an unanimous decision I can see there is within the constitution a case for non-Muslim Malays. It is easy to hide behind technicalities to preserve the ‘peace’. Brawn and intimidation instead of reason and liberty has won the day, and it is a sad day it is.

I’m reminded of a Malay proverb: Diberi betis, nakkan peha. This is so true in Malaysian life, either overtly or subversively.