| Follow-up, and you knew this was coming. |
Lina Joy, who was born Azlina Jailani, had applied for a name change on her government identity card. The National Registration Department obliged but refused to drop Muslim from the religion column. She appealed the decision to a civil court but was told she must take it to Islamic Shariah courts. But Joy, 42, argued that she should not be bound by Shariah law because she is a Christian.
A three-judge Federal Court panel ruled Wednesday that only the Islamic Shariah Court has the power to allow her to remove the word ``Islam'' from the religion category on her government identity card.
The Malaysian Constitution guarantees freedom of religion to all citizens. But Muslims, who comprise nearly 60 percent of the 26 million population, have not been allowed by the Shariah courts to legally leave their religion.
| So much for the rule of law. Sucks to live in a theocracy, doesn't it. |