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| Southeast Asia | |||
| Malaysian Hindus call on govt to uphold freedom of religion | |||
| 2006-07-03 | |||
A. Vaithilingam, the president of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, which represents over 1,000 Hindu temples and associated communities, said the group issued the demand at their annual general meeting on Sunday. “We unanimously endorsed that the federal government should take this matter seriously and see that part of the constitution is implemented,” Vaithilingam told AFP. The country’s constitution affirms freedom of religion for Malaysians, but Hindu Sangam and other religious minority groups say growing Muslim conservatism is eroding their rights. “Very often the authorities are ignoring the fact that there is something known as freedom of worship,” said Vaithilingam. Religious tensions have been on the boil since December, when an ethnic Indian moutaineering hero M. Moorthy was buried as a Muslim over the protests of his Hindu wife, who said he never converted. Moorthy was ruled a Muslim in an Islamic or sharia court, in which his wife had no say as a non-Muslim.
Lina Joy, an ethnic Malay, was originally known as Azlina Jailani but changed her name when she converted in 1997. The National Registration Department granted a card with her new name in 1999 but refused to remove her religion, stated as Islam, saying it needed permission from a sharia court. Vaithilingam said freedom of religion was “the crux of the matter” and that judges in Malaysia’s lower courts had so far ruled against Lina Joy. “The person has clearly stated she is a Christian, but the judges are ignoring that part of the constitution,” he said. “We are still very hopeful that the federal court judges will be in favour of Lina Joy’s claim,” he added.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 |
| Posted by: Anginens Threreng8133 2006-07-03 02:18 |