Malaysia Court May Rule On Jurisdiction Over Converts

In Malaysia, the Federal Court is expected to rule in the next few days on whether Islamic courts have sole jurisdiction over Muslims who claim to have converted from Islam to another religion, according to yesterday's Boston Globe. In recent months, there have been a number of civil suits in Malaysian courts by converts who are seeking to register their new religious affiliation. Fundamentalists are pressing to make apostasy a capital offense in the country, though it is unlikely that they will succeed. However, on the website of the Prime Minister's Department for Religious Affairs, a Malay-language Frequently Asked Questions section says that apostates should be isolated and counseled, and if they fail to repent they should be jailed. It continues: "If the person remains an apostate, it is left to the respective authorities to impose the fitting sentence that is death."