Sharia Court: “We Decide If You Are Musim Or Not”
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A Muslim-born woman arrested for joining a banned sect was sentenced to two years in jail for renouncing her religion, her lawyer said Tuesday.
The case underscores growing concern about religious freedom in this mostly Muslim nation, where Islamic Shariah courts which govern the personal conduct and religious lives of Muslims have invariably refused to sanction the conversion of people who try to leave Islam.
A Shariah High Court judge in eastern Terengganu state ruled Monday that Kamariah Ali is still a Muslim despite her declaration to the contrary.
Last month, Kamariah, 57, was convicted of declaring herself an apostate after she and 58 others were arrested in July 2005 for following the teachings of the banned Sky Kingdom, a local sect claiming to promote interfaith harmony.
Kamariah’s lawyer, Sa’adiah Din, said her client, who started serving her sentence Tuesday, insists she is no longer a Muslim and has instructed her to appeal the conviction and verdict.
“She informed the court that she is not a Muslim,” Sa’adiah told The Associated Press. “She doesn’t come under Shariah court anymore.”
(AP)
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