In the wake of the highest court in Malaysia refusing to hear an appeal by four Christians wanting to officially convert out of Islam, Christian leaders continued to hold hope for change.
In a country where there is no legal way to leave Islam, the four people were asking the Federal Court to have their names and their faith changed on their national identity cards. On Tuesday(Feb. 27) the court held that the four people were Muslims and hence fell under the jurisdiction of the Sharia (Islamic law) Court system, and that it must adjudicate matters of Islamic law.
The five-member panel of the Federal Court unanimously ruled that civil courts had no jurisdiction to decide on apostasy cases. The four converts held that the Shariah Courts had no power to decide apostasy cases under state laws because they are no longer Muslims.
Court of Appeal President Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin wrote that although no such legal provision for deciding apostasy cases existed in the law, there were clauses in it that Shariah Courts could apply.
The Federal Court decision helps clear up a gray area in apostasy cases in Malaysia, but bewilderment remains as Shariah Courts are state courts subject to different state laws. Furthermore, the Federal Court ruled in January that the federal civil court has the final say on legal matters even as they pertain to…
… Read More
Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.