Lina Joy, a Malaysian convert to Christianity, has gone into hiding after extremists issued death threats against her and the lawyers supporting her cause.
Escalating furor over the latest stage in Joy’s lengthy struggle to change her religious status has led Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to order a halt to all public debate on the issue.
Conversion out of Islam (“apostasy”) is either forbidden or regarded as a criminal offense under most state Islamic laws in Malaysia; “apostates” may be fined, detained and imprisoned.
In mid-August, Joy’s mother made a public appeal to Joy through local media outlet Utusan Malaysia.
“Ali, come back and return to the path. This is my wish and hope before I perform umrah [pilgrimage],” she said.
The case is widely regarded as a watershed for religious freedom in Malaysia.
If the court orders that the word “Islam” be dropped from Joy’s identity card, the move would affirm the supremacy of the secular constitution. (CD)
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