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Azlina binti Jailani adopted the name Lina Joy when she became a Christian in 1990. Seven years later, she applied to drop her Muslim name and affiliation from her government-issued identity card so she could wed her Christian fiancé. (Malaysia does not allow interfaith marriages.)

The court approved the name change. Removing Islam from Joy's card, however, proved much more controversial. A civil court ruled that Malaysia's Shari'ah courts must approve Joy's conversion to Christianity. The ensuing legal battle threatens to shatter Malaysia's reputation as a modern, majority-Islamic nation tolerant of other faiths. Civil and Shari'ah courts alike have delivered a series of decisions against her that have captured attention beyond Malaysia's borders.

"Lina Joy's case is not Islam versus Christianity," but rather a broader question of Muslim conversion to other faiths, said Wong Kim Kong, secretary general of the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF).

Shari'ah courts consider abandoning Islam to be apostasy, an offense punishable by fines, detention, and imprisonment in Malaysia. Although Malaysia's constitution grants every person the right to profess and practice his or her religion, civil courts ruled July 5 that an individual cannot leave Islam "at will." Kong, who serves on the attorney general's committee to review conversion laws, told CT that Shari'ah courts rarely allow anyone to leave Islam.

This hasn't always been the case in Malaysia. Kong said that less than 10 years ago, Muslims could convert to other religions through a civil high court order or by obtaining an "exit certificate" from the government's Islamic department, for example. But in 1998, a high court ruled that Shari'ah courts must hear all cases of conversion out of Islam.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced in August a ban on public discussion of "controversial" religious speech. But the move did not result directly from Joy's case, Kong said. Extremist Muslim groups had earlier demonstrated outside a forum created to defend Malaysians' freedom to choose their own religion. The groups claimed the forum violated Islam and a constitutional article that defines Malays as Muslim. Malaysia's government determined that issues of conversion and identity had grown too sensitive, Kong said, leading to the ban on public discussion.

Events in Malaysia reflect trends throughout the Muslim world, said Nina Shea, director of Freedom House's Center for Religious Freedom. She said Lina Joy's case "is an example of intolerance, further entrenchment in the society of Islamic courts and Islamic laws that cannot accept religious pluralism or, for that matter, the [international human] right to change one's religion."

With her wedding on indefinite hold, Joy, 42, has received death threats for her "apostasy." She has "gone for a rest," not into hiding, to avoid unnecessary harassment, Kong said. "She is determined and courageous. She is convinced that she is doing the right thing."

Joy continues to wait for the country's highest court of appeal to rule on her case. The chief justice initially promised a quick decision, but after the Muslim demonstrations said, "We can't rush this thing."

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The National Evangelical Christian Fellowship Malaysia has more information on the Lina Joy case.

Other coverage of Malaysia's ban on public religious speech includes::

Weblog: Malaysia Bans Religious Speech | Malaysia's Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, made it clear that the action was taken as much to protect Islam's status in the country as it was to protect the peace (Weblog, Christianity Today, Aug. 23)

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November 2006, Vol. 50, No. 11