PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Thursday, May 08, 2008

Malaysia Islamic court allows reconversion from Islam
Mike Rosen-Molina at 2:59 PM ET

[JURIST] An Islamic court in Malaysia [JURIST news archive] ruled Thursday that a Buddhist woman who converted to Islam should be allowed to return to her original faith. The ruling is unusual in Malaysia, which has both secular and Sharia courts; Sharia courts rarely allow converts to renounce Islam, a fact which has led to tensions with the country's minority religions. Religious rights groups hailed the decision as a landmark ruling for interfaith relations. AP has more.

Last year, Malaysia's Federal Court rejected an appeal [JURIST report] by a woman who sought to change her religious affiliation on her government registration card from Islam to Christianity. Approximately 58 percent of Malaysia's population of 26 million are ethnic Malays, generally Muslims who fall under the jurisdiction of the Sharia courts. The remaining 40 percent of the population are mainly ethnic Chinese, indigenous, or Indian, and are generally Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, or Taoist/Confucian falling under the jurisdiction of civil courts. The Malaysian constitution [text] has been interpreted to regard all ethnic Malays as Muslim, because Islam is considered to be an intrinsic component of the ethnic identity. Malaysia is officially a secular state, but it recognizes Islam as the official religion.






Link | |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 Groups petition Supreme Court to overturn Montana ban on corporate campaign spending
3:18 PM ET, February 11

 Apple sues Motorola in federal court over patent claims in Germany
2:30 PM ET, February 11

 UN concerned over prosecution of Spain judge Garzon
10:54 AM ET, February 11

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

Hungary and Mexico's Constitutional Parallels
FOREIGN
Kevin Govern
Ave Maria School of Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@pitt.edu