PUTRAJAYA, May 30: Malaysia’s top secular court on Wednesday rejected a woman’s bid to be legally recognised as Christian after converting from Islam, saying the matter must be decided by a religious court.

Lina Joy, 43, had sought to have the word ‘Islam’ removed from her national identity card but the Federal Court threw out her case, deciding that only a sharia tribunal could legally certify her conversion.

“Apostasy is within the powers of the Islamic law and the sharia courts. Civil courts cannot interfere,” Federal Court Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said in the majority decision.

“In short, she cannot, at her own whim, simply enter or leave her religion... She must follow rules.”

“God is great!” a crowd of about 200 people, who had been holding a mass prayer, shouted in unison outside the court complex when they learned of the verdict.

The chief justice said the National Registration Department had the right to demand that the sharia court certify Joy's conversion. But the only non-Muslim judge on the three-member judicial panel disagreed.

Judge Richard Malanjum said the NRD’s demand was ‘discriminatory and unconstitutional’, and it was unreasonable to expect a person to ‘self-incriminate’ herself before a sharia court. “In some states in Malaysia, apostasy is a criminality.” Ms Joy feared retaliation from Muslim groups and was not present in court.

Lawmaker Teresa Kok, of the Democratic Action Party said it was a setback to religious freedom. She called for a constitutional amendment to entrench the civil courts’ superiority.

“The Federal Court, the apex court of the country, is divided over this issue, as the country is divided on this issue,” said Zainah Anwar, of Sisters in Islam, a rights group for Muslim women.

Yusri Mohamad, president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement, said Ms Joy’s appeal to the Federal Court should be seen as part of an effort to revamp Malaysia’s balance between Muslims and non-Muslims. “We hope that we have seen the last of such an attempt,” he said. “This decision should not be perceived as a victory for Muslims and a loss to non-Muslims.”—AFP