Malaysia Court Rules Against Hindu Widow On Burial

In Malaysia today, a High Court judge held that he had no jurisdiction to overrule the findings of a Sharia court that an ex-army commando, M. Moorthy, was a Muslim convert and should be buried as a Muslim. Moorthy, who Died December 20, took part in a nationally celebrated Malaysian expedition to Mount Everest in 1997. According to today's China Post, the High Court refused to turn Moorthy's body over to his Hindu wife, instead giving possession to the Islamic Affairs Department. Judge Raus Sharif also refused to issue an order preventing cremation or burial of body while Moorthy's widow appeals. The Islamic Affairs Department did not provided any documentary proof of the Moorthy's alleged conversion, saying he did it verbally. His widow claims he remained a Hindu.