Uphill task for Muslim woman to renounce Islam, say lawyers

Zarinah Abdul Majid’s wedding in a Hindu temple was disrupted by Selangor religious officers on Sunday. – The Malaysian Insider pic, June 4, 2014.

The factory worker whose wedding at a Hindu temple was raided by the Selangor Islamic authorities will have an uphill task in obtaining a certificate of renunciation from the Shariah Court because of red tape, lawyers and an interfaith group said today.

Responding to the predicament faced by Zarinah Abdul Majid, they said a Federal Court ruling had clearly stated that a Muslim who wanted to renounce Islam must get the certificate from the religious court before other documentation could be completed.

They added that shariah courts in the past issued certificates but the applicant had to endure time-consuming bureaucracy.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism (MCCBCHST), however, felt the woman's remedy was in the High Court.

Zarinah was arrested by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) when she got married according to Hindu rites in a temple in Petaling Jaya on Sunday.

She was taken away by enforcement officers from the religious department, who were accompanied by policemen, after Zarinah's husband tied the "thali" around her neck, an act signifying they were married.

Malaysian Hindu Sangam president Datuk R. S. Mohan Shan said the couple was forced to go through the traditional Hindu ceremony because the Shariah Court in Selangor and the National Registration Department (NRD) were of little assistance to her plight.

For the past seven years, Zarinah had tried to renounce Islam as she is a practising Hindu. Fed up over her efforts, she went ahead with the traditional Hindu ceremony, marrying her boyfriend of seven years.

Deputy director-general of Jais Ahmad Zaki Arshad said that Zarinah's case was not classified as apostasy but filed as an offence to insult or bring disrepute to Islam under the Shariah Criminal Enactment (Selangor) 1995.

He also admitted that the bride never practised Islam and was only a nominal Muslim.

Lawyer Benjamin Dawson recalled the case of Lina Joy, a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity, who was instructed to get a certificate of renunciation from the religious court.

"She did not get the certificate to legally marry a non-Muslim of her choice and start a family in this country," he said.

The NRD allowed Azlina Jailani to change her name to Lina Joy but did not proceed further in changing her religious status as she couldn’t give a certificate of renunciation from the religious court.

Dawson, who was a counsel for Lina Joy, questioned why a Muslim should obtain such a certificate when the Federal Constitution guaranteed every citizen the freedom of religion.

"In my opinion the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act and state enactments that stop inter-religious marriages is unconstitutional as the state interferes into the private affairs of two individuals," he said.

Lawyer Aston Paiva said shariah courts had in the past gave renunciation orders but the applicant had to make a legal submission, detailing the reasons for leaving Islam.

"Non-Muslim lawyers cannot appear in a religious court and Muslim lawyers are reluctant to take up such applications," he said.

Paiva said the Islamic authorities would attempt to counsel the applicant to keep the person in the Islamic faith.

He said in states like Malacca, Perak and Kelantan, apostasy was a crime and this closed the door to anyone who wanted to leave Islam.

"In my opinion, such apostasy law and counselling are unconstitutional as it impedes my freedom of religion and who I want to get married and have a family with," he said.

Paiva said the relationship among citizens was complicated as Muslims in this country were governed by state laws while non-Muslims came under the jurisdiction of Federal legislation.

"Some of these state enactments and Federal laws are inconsistent with the basic rights under the constitution," he said.

MCCBCHST president Jagir Singh said Zarinah's case could be distinguished from Lina Joy's as the former was not a Malay-Muslim.

He said her mother is a Hindu and Zarinah practised the Hindu faith and customs.

"We strongly suggest that she goes to the High Court to get a declaration that she is a Hindu and direct the NRD to remove the word 'Islam' in her MyKad," he said.

Jagir said the unilateral conversion of Zarinah and her three siblings by the father was illegal as the wife's consent was not obtained. Zarinah's parents married as Hindus in 1980.

She told The Malaysian Insider that her father was converted to Islam by a relative and he carried the Muslim name, Abdul Majid, while her mother remained a Hindu.

She said as a result, she and three other siblings were identified as Muslims in their birth certificates and in their MyKad.

Zarinah said after the birth of her brother in 1990, their father left the home and never returned.

"My mother did not realise that we were Muslims because she is illiterate. My family only practised the Hindu faith," she had said, adding that over the last 20 years, the family members had seen many lawyers to find a solution to their problem but it turned out to be an exercise in futility.

She said the family spent about RM20,000 in legal fees..

"On paper, we are still Muslims," Zarina said.

- TMI