Source : The Straits Times Monday, July 24, 2006 By Leslie Lau

Court cases seen as possible threat to official religion prompt them to form new group MALAYSIA'S religious right is preparing to fight back against what it sees as a liberal tide sweeping the judiciary and viewed as a threat to Islam's position in the country. More than 50 groups representing Muslim lawyers, clerics, professionals and students met a week ago to plan a campaign and launch legal challenges to protect Islam. They formed an umbrella body known as Pembela Islam (Defenders of Islam).

Three court cases were at the root of their unhappiness. The first was that of a Hindu widow who had unsuccessfully challenged the Islamic authorities to prove that her late husband had converted to Islam. In another case, two weeks ago, Malaysia's Federal Court ruled that three Malay boys could not wear the Islamic turban to school. But the case which has received the most scorn from Islamic conservatives is that of Ms Lina Joy, a Malay who is seeking to drop Islam as the religion on her identity card. Over the weekend, two small demonstrations were held here and in Johor Baru to protest against her case. Her case is now being heard by the Federal Court.

Muslim groups fear that if she is allowed to officially leave Islam, the ruling could possibly open the doors to thousands of Malays to change their faith. They also feel that such legal challenges question the sanctity and position of Islam. Malaysia's Constitution states that Islam is the official religion, and one of the conditions to identify a person as a Malay is for that person to be a Muslim.

But it also guarantees freedom of religion, which is the clause being used to mount the recent legal challenges. 'This case has serious implications for our Constitution and laws,' Muslim Youth Movement secretary-general Khairul Ariffin told The Straits Times. He said a series of forums was being planned by Pembela Islam to spread the message to Muslims on the need to 'defend the faith'. The organisation plans to use its network of ulamas, or religious experts, to campaign against the civil courts being used as a way out of the religion for Muslims. Recently, Datuk Harussani Idris, the mufti or chief cleric of Perak state and a poster boy of the Islamic right, sparked alarm when he alleged the existence of more than 100,000 apostates in the country. The influential Datuk Harussani is known for his ultra-conservative views, including his opposition to joint celebrations of non-Muslim and Muslim celebrations.

He also once suggested that HIV patients should be confined to remote islands. At a convention of religious clerics last month, he warned against 'elements of pluralism and liberalism' creeping into the thinking of Muslims. The campaign by Malaysia's right is not confined to clerics and the heartland. It has received an added fillip from a growing group of Muslim lawyers led by former Bar Council chairman Zainur Zakaria. Last week, he helped launch a group calling itself Lawyers in Defence of Islam.