religious freedom trampled on

in my last post when i lamented about no freedom of religion after lina joy’s verdict, a commenter, jee, asked me not to exaggerate the issue  – that s/he and i are still free to practise our religions. sure but i was not talking about s/he and i. i was talking about malays/muslim. at any rate if she and i choose to convert to islam, there’ll be no ‘coming out’ from islam ever, so there you have it, no freedom of religion too (already being muslim)…… and there you have it, all points to malays/muslim having no freedom of religion.

many of the blogs and news website i visited which talked about lina joy’s verdict did mentioned no freedom of religion too. here are some of them:

from asia news:

Freedom of religion took a beating in Malaysia when the country’s highest court ruled Wednesday that a Muslim woman cannot renounce her faith unless sanctioned by the sharia court, which is a near impossible hope.

from time:

In what has been dubbed a blow to Malaysia’s religious freedom, the country’s highest court on Wednesday denied an appeal by Christian convert Lina Joy to make her switch from Islam recognized by law.

from aliran:

Lina Joy’s 10-year battle to be herself as she wanted to be within the confines of the supreme law of the country, the Federal Constitution, has been dashed by the Federal Court’s decision this morning. The freedom of religion guaranteed by the Federal Constitution under Article 11 comes across as hollow and meaningless.

from malaysia unplug:

after all, what is religious freedom if a 43 years old malay woman isn’t allowed to follow the faith of her choosing?

from linken lim:

In what has been dubbed a blow to Malaysia’s religious freedom, the country’s highest court today denied an appeal by Christian convert Lina Joy to make her switch from Islam recognized by law.

there are many more. i have no time to source them out here but if you go browsing here and there, i’m sure you’ll notice them. all in all, 30 may 2007 prove to be a sad historic day where freedom of religion is denied. again i have better say it – i know i know all those blah blah about islam must bow down to syariah law and the law says one can’t leave the religion and all that stuffs… but aren’t those man made laws? doesn’t the quran mentioned there should  be no compulsion in islam?

other links:
for malaysiakini’s news (if you no sub to it):
m’kini: no joy for lina

also some other good readings here and here.

the best post (beside the one from malaysia today, as pointed out by a commenter,  jnhgfd), i read from a blogger would have to be from politics101. he expressed my sentiments exactly especially on the part of the reaction of those muslim groups at the court (and some muslim bloggers) being so happy and shouting allahuakabar and saying the verdict is a victory for islam. rather, it is the opposite. this is part of what he wrote:

It wasn’t a victory for Islam by any stretch of the imagination. Islam doesn’t need a lousy split decision to show its elegance and glory.

Islam doesn’t need all the allahu akabar nonsense outside the courthouse.

If anything, this episode shows there are many who believe they have the religious right to use standover tactics to pressure, intimidate and frustrate those who exercise their constitutional right to freely embrace a religion of their choice.

go and read further – the louts are dumb, he said! lol!