Muslim-Born Woman Seeks Life as Hindu

[Guest guest]

SHAH ALAM, Malaysia (July 6, 2007): A Muslim-born woman who was

forced to spend six months in an Islamic rehabilitation center

because she wants to live as a Hindu said Friday after her release

that she will never return to her original faith.

 

Revathi Masoosai, 29, said officials at the center tried to make her

pray as a Muslim, wear a head scarf and eat beef, a practice

sacrilege to Hindus.

 

" Because of their behavior, I loathe Islam even more now, " she told

reporters. " They say it's a school, but it's actually a prison. "

 

Her case is one of a growing number of conflicts in Malaysia between

religious freedom and state policies that favor Islam, the official

faith of this southeast Asian nation. The battles have strained

ethnic relations in the multicultural nation.

 

Malaysia is considered one of the world's most relaxed Muslim

countries, having enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades. But

it follows a dual justice system. Islamic, Shariah, courts administer

the personal affairs of Muslims, while civil courts govern Hindus,

Christians, Buddhists and other religious minorities.

 

Under Islamic law, a person who is born Muslim cannot convert to

another religion.

 

The Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state detained

Revathi, an ethnic Indian, in January and sent her for religious

counseling after officials discovered she had married a Hindu man.

 

Revathi was released from the rehabilitation center Thursday, and she

appeared in a High Court on Friday in an attempt to have her

detention declared illegal. Though she already has served the time,

her lawyers said they wanted to bring the case to court as a matter

of principle and to possibly set a precedent for future cases.

 

Tuah Atan, a lawyer representing the Islamic department, said

officials remain hopeful that Revathi might still return to Islam.

 

" From the facts of the case, the authorities still strongly feel she

can reform, " Tuah said.

 

Revathi was born to Indian Muslim parents who gave her a Muslim name,

Siti Fatimah. She was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother and

changed her name in 2001, but her official papers still say she is

Muslim.

 

Revathi married Suresh Veerappan in 2004 according to Hindu rites and

gave birth to a daughter in December 2005. But the marriage was not

legally registered because under Malaysian law Suresh would have had

to convert to Islam first.

 

Islamic officials seized the couple's 18-month-old daughter from her

Hindu father in March and handed the child to Revathi's Muslim mother.

 

Revathi said officials have ordered her to live with her mother for

now and to continue undergoing counseling.

 

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party,

said Friday that moderate Muslims must be concerned by such cases

because they could hurt Malaysia's image by showing " a narrow and

intolerant face of Islam. "

 

Muslim-Born Woman Seeks Life as Hindu

SOURCE: News. Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights

reserved. By JULIA ZAPPEI, Associated Press Writer.

URL:

<http://news./s/ap/20070706/ap_on_re_as/malaysia_religious_di

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