Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide (89 page)

71
. James Hookway and Celine Fernandez, “ ‘Allah’ Ruling May Challenge Malaysia,”
Wall Street Journal
, January 2, 2010,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126239298638513113.html
; Hookway and Fernandez, “Malaysia Says It Will Appeal ‘Allah’ Ruling,”
Wall Street Journal
, January 4, 2010,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126252276477713845.html
; “3 Malaysian Churches Attacked in ‘Allah’ Dispute,” AP, January 8, 2010,
http://www.chris-tianwebsite.com/forum/showthread.php?p=29185
; Rachel Harvey, “Malaysia Church Attacks Continue in Use of ‘Allah’ Row,”
BBC News
, January 11, 2009,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8451630.stm
; “Ninth Church Vandalized in Malaysia as Tensions Rise,”
New York Times
, January 11, 2010,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/world/asia/12malaysia.html
; “Pig Head Find at Malaysia Mosques,”
BBC News
, January 27, 2010,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8482267.stm
: “Malaysia Won’t Punish Muslims for
Taking Communion,”
AP
, March 4, 2010,
http://www.siasat.com/english/news/malaysia-wont-punish-muslims-taking-communion
.

72
. “Non-Muslims Not to Use 35 Islamic terms: Diktat,”
Press Trust of India
, January 15, 2010,
http://www.zeenews.com/news596153.html
. See also Joseph Chinyong Liow, “No God but God: Malaysia’s ‘Allah’ Controversy,”
Foreign Affairs
, February 10, 2010,
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/65961/joseph-chinyong-liow/no-god-but-god
.

73
. “Seizure of 15,000 Bibles in Malaysia tuns Christians,”
Compass Direct News
, November 7, 2009,
http://www.compassdirect.org/english/country/malaysia/11589/
; Julia Zappei, “Malaysia Rejects Call to Release 10,000 Bibles,”
AP
, November 5, 2009,
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/11/05/malaysia_rejects_call_to_release_10000_bibles/
.

74
. “Govt Bans 37 Publications on Islam Containing Twisted Facts,” BERNAMA News Agency, June 6, 2007,
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news.php?id=265986
.

75
. “Govt Bans Two Books Containing Twisted Facts on Islam,” BERNAMA News Agency, August 14, 2008,
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=352710
; Liz Gooch, “Malaysian Court Ends Ban on Book,”
New York Times
, January 26, 2010,
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/world/asia/26malaysia.html?ref=world
.

76
. See “Mission and Objectives” on Web site
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemid=164
. SIS was formed in 1988 and registered as an NGO in 1993 under the name SIS Forum (Malaysia) Berhad. The name Sisters in Islam is retained as an authorship name.

77
. Sisters in Islam, “Press Statement: Banning of the Book on ‘Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism,’ ” August 21, 2008,
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=1/
.

78
. Liz Gooch, “Malaysian Court Ends Ban on Book.”

79
. “Clause Doesn’t Cover Muslims,”
The Star Online
, February 24, 2009,
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/24/parliament/3330271&sec=parliament/
. For background, see Perry Smith, “Speak No Evil: Apostasy, Blasphemy and Heresy in Malaysian Syariah Law”; Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil, “Law of Apostasy and Freedom of Religion in Malaysia,”
Asian Journal of Comparative Law
2, no. 1 (2007): 1–36; Thio Li-Ann, “Apostasy and Religious Freedom: Constitutional Issues Arising from the Lina Joy Litigation,”
Malayan Law Journal
2, no. 1 (April 2006). On the earlier treatment of blasphemy and apostasy in Malaysian law, see Mohamed Hashim Kamali,
Freedom of Expression in Islam
, rev. ed. (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1997), 273–93.

80
. “Renouncing Islam a Matter for Syariah Court Only,”
New Straits Times
, March 6, 1999.

81
. Angela Wu, “Lina Joy,”
Wall Street Journal
, September 7, 2006,
http://www.becketfund.org/files/c8589.pdf
.

82
. The card identifies who is a Muslim: information on others’ faith is recorded electronically and is not visible to the eye.

83
. Ashgar Ali Ali Mohamed, “Lina Joy v Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah & Anor,”
Malaysian Law Journal
2 (2004): 119–44,
http://www.becketfund.org/index.php/case/107.html
.

84
. Doug Bandow, “The Right Not to Be Muslim,”
National Review Online
, June 8, 2007,
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=Y2IyZmU2NDljNmEwMjIxNGNmMzI4NzFjZmNiMTQ5YjI
.

85
. Jonathan Kent, “Malaysia ‘Convert’ Claims Cruelty,”
BBC News
, July 6, 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6278568.stm
.

86
. Julia Zappei, “Muslim-Born Woman Seeks Life as Hindu,”
ABC News
, July 6, 2007,
http://www.bookrags.com/news/muslim-born-woman-seeks-life-as-moc/
.

87
. “Convert to Know Fate Next Month,”
New Straits Times
, July 21, 2007,
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/convert_to_know_fate_next_month.html?date=2008-03-01/
.

88
. Sharanjit Singh, “Syariah High Court Declares Convert No Longer a Muslim,”
New Straits Times
, May 8, 2008,
http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/legal/general_news/landmark_decision_syariah_high_court_declares_convert_no_longer_a_muslim.html
.

89
. “M’sian Muslims Protest Ruling on Renunciation of Islam,”
New Straits Times
, May 16, 2008,
http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20080516-65646.html
.

90
. “Malaysian Court Upholds Muslim Return to Buddhism,”
The China Post
, March 17, 2009,
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/malaysia/2009/03/17/200426/Malaysian-court.htm/
. In the recent case of Lim Yoke Khoon, the Shah Alam Court of Appeal denied her request to reconvert to Christianity on a technicality that Lim is expected to appeal. “Malaysia: Court Denies Woman’s Appeal to Leave Islam,”
Compass Direct News
, August 15, 2008,
http://archive.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5521&lang=en&length=short&backpage=archives&critere=&countryname=Malaysia&rowcur=0
. In 2009, Malaysia banned the conversion of children without the consent of both parents; see “Malaysia Tackles Child Conversion,”
BBC News
, April 23, 2009,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8014025.stm
. There had been a series of cases concerning the religious status of children in cases of conversion; see Sofianni Subki, “Custody Turmoil,”
New Straits Times
, September 15, 2003,
http://www.hvk.org/articles/0903/203.html
; “High Court Declines to Nullify Conversion of Minors to Islam,”
New Straits Times
, April 14, 2004,
http://www.high-beam.com/doc/1P1-93434957.html
. Another grievance for non-Muslims has been that religious authorities can confiscate and bury a body as a Muslim if a sharia judge rules the deceased a Muslim, which requires only the word of one Muslim witness. See “Body-snatching Divides Religions in Malaysia,”
The Earth Times
, June 22, 2009,
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/274242,body-snatching-divides-religions-in-malaysia-feature.html
.

91
. “Islamic Authority in Malaysia Bans Moderate Muslim Mosque,”
Salem News
, May 1, 2009,
http://www.salem-news.com/printview.php?id=10694
.

92
. Paul Wiseman, “In Malaysia, ‘Islamic Civilization’ Is Promoted.”

93
. “59 Sky Kingdom Members Detained,”
New Straits Times
, July 21, 2005,
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/11755/59-sky-kingdom-members-detained
.

94
. “Indignant Imams Flatten Teapot Deity’s Commune,”
AsiaNews.it
, August 2, 2005,
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=3837
.

95
. “Sky Kingdom Member Gets Two Years for Apostasy,”
The Star Online
, March 3, 2008,
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/4/courts/20519214
.

96
. “Ayah Pin Still Hiding in Thailand,”
New Straits Times
, May 3, 2006,
http://www.religion-newsblog.com/14499/ayah-pin-still-hiding-in-thailand
.

97
. “Malaysia Women’s Group Sued over ‘Islam’ in Name,”
Jakarta Post
, March 22, 2010,
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/22/malaysia-women039s-group-sued-over-039islam039-name.html
.

98
. “Sharia in Force on Atolls of the Maldives,”
AsiaNews.it
, October 20, 2008,
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Sharia-in-force-on-atolls-of-the-Maldives-13522.html
. It is unclear if this means that a Maldivian may be stripped of citizenship or if the law applies only to foreigners who wish to gain citizenship; see Odd Larsen, “Maldives: Religious Freedom Survey 2008,”
Forum 18 News
, October 15, 2008,
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1203
. For more background, see Larsen, “Maldives: What Do Maldivians Understand Freedom of Religion or Belief to Be?”
Forum 18 News
, December 7, 2009,
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1383
.

99
. Ahmed Naish, “Parliament Takes on Revised Penal Code,”
Dhivehi Observer
, October 14, 2009,
http://doreview.blogspot.com/2009/10/parliament-takes-on-revised-penal-code.html
.

100
. Olivia Lang, “‘Anni’ Heralds New Era in Maldives,”
BBC News
, October 29, 2008,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7697283.stm
.

101
. “Maldives: Reform in Politics but Not in Religious Liberty,” World Evangelical Alliance, December 9, 2008,
http://www.worldevangelicals.org/commissions/rlc/rlc_article.htm?id=2264
; “No Place for Religious Freedom in the Maldives’ Democratic Dispensation,”
AsiaNews.it
, February 19, 2009,
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=14524&size=A
.

102
. Maryam Omidi, “Journalists ‘Exercise Self-censorship,’”
Minivan News
, June 4, 2009,
http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg07062.html
.

103
. “Maldives,”
International Religious Freedom Report 1999
, U.S. State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor,
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/irf/irf_rpt/1999/irf_maldives99.html
; See, for example,
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1998/september7/8ta27d.html
,
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rt_maldive.htm
.

104
. J. J. Robinson, “Islamic Foundation Calls for Death Sentence If Apostate Fails to Repent,”
Minivan News
, May 30, 2010,
http://minivannews.com/politics/islamic-foundation-calls-for-death-sentence-if-apostate-fails-to-repent-7606/print/
; “Apostate Publicly Repents and Rejoins Islam, after Counseling,”
Minivan News
, June 1, 2010,
http://minivannews.com/politics/apostate-publicly-repents-and-rejoins-islam-after-counselling-7704/print/
.

105
. Hassan Saeed and Abdullah Saeed,
Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam
(Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2004).

106
. South Asia Analysis Group, “On Dr. Hassan Saeed’s Book on Freedom of Religion and Apostasy,” June 25, 2008,
http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers28%5Cpaper2747.html
.

107
. “Maldives: Reform in Politics but Not in Religious Liberty,” World Evangelical Alliance, December 8, 2008,
http://www.ea.org.au/default.aspx?id=4f06b920-cc46-4c2e-a939-7bd24de72c70
.

108
. Odd Larsen, “Maldives: Almost No Religious Freedom for Migrant Workers,”
Forum 18 News
, June 23, 2009,
http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=1316
;

109
. Sisters in Islam, “Banning of the Book on ‘Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism,’ ” press statement, August 21, 2008,
http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=1
.

1
. Statement by Ihab Gamaleldin, Egypt, at the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 6th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, September 13, 2007, UN Human Rights Council archived video,
http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=070913
.

2
. Resolution 12/16, Freedom of Opinion and Expression, UN Human Rights Council, adopted October 2, 2009.

3
. On the tendency of religious repression to increase religious violence, see Brian J. Grim and Roger Finke, “Religious Persecution in Cross-National Context: Clashing Civilizations or Regulated Religious Economies?”
American Sociological Review
72 (August 2007): 633–58.