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Source: Reuters
A Malaysian religious appeal court in the northern state of
Penang granted a woman's wish to formally renounce Islam, in a rare
case where Muslims are allowed to leave the faith.
Siti Fatimah, an ethnic Chinese woman formerly known as Tan Ean
Huang, had converted to Islam in 1998 in order to marry her Muslim
lover.
In Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, non-Muslims must convert
to Islam before they can legally marry a Muslim.
"It is clear from the evidence that she converted to Islam just for
the sake of marrying an Iranian man," Penang state Sharia Appeal
Court judge Ibrahim Lembut said in his ruling.
"She has never followed any aspect of the Islamic teachings and has
been living a non-Muslim lifestyle right from the day of her
conversion. This shows the conversion itself is doubtful," he
said.
Converting is a sensitive topic in this Southeast Asian country of
27 million people and Islamic courts rarely allow Muslims to
convert to other religions.
Often, they prescribe counselling or sometimes even fine them
for apostasy.
The country's best known Christian convert, Lina Joy, lost a battle
two years ago to have the word Islam removed from her identity
card.
Other issues have also caused friction and the government recently
banned a Catholic newspaper from using the word Allah to describe
the Christian God in a case that has raised concerns over religious
freedoms.
Tan, 39, will have to get the details on her identity card changed
but in the meantime is to offer prayers in a Buddhist temple.
"I intend to go home and offer thanksgiving prayers to a temple in
Nibong Tebal," said Tan after the hearing, referring to her home
town in mainland Penang state.
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