Becket Fund denounces Malaysian court

According to the Becket Fund - a human rights law firm - Malaysia has violated its own law and international law in denying official recognition of Lina Joy’s conversion from Islam to Christianity.

The Becket Fund, a US law firm that deals in human rights cases involving religious liberty issues said today that the Malaysian Federal Court has violated both Malaysian and International Law in its finding in the case of Lina Joy, a woman who has asked for official recognition of her free conversion from Islam to Christianity.

“This decision violates international law and stands in wrongheaded defiance of the universal human right to religious freedom,” said Angela Wu, International Director for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who attended a hearing for Ms. Joy and has testified before the United States Congress on anti-conversion laws.

“International law and the Malaysian Constitution guarantee the right to choose your own religious beliefs and change those beliefs according to your conscience. Today the Federal Court made it clear that if the state says you are a Muslim, those rights don’t apply to you. Unfortunately for Lina Joy, a universal human right has been trumped by the state’s insistence that she bow to sharia law.”, said Wu.

Based in Washington DC, the Becket Fund was founded by Attorney Kevin “Seamus” Hasson and has defended the right of free exercise of religion to numerous individuals and groups, representing Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and those of other faiths. To see further resources on this case, see: Becket Fund finding and Malaysia - State Imposed Religious Designations