PENANG: In a landmark case, the Syariah High Court here allowed an application by Muslim convert Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, 39, to renounce Islam and officially revert to her original faith.The decision by Perlis Syariah Court chief judge Othman Ibrahim, who presided over the case when he was based in Penang earlier, makes this the first case of its kind in the country whereby a living Muslim convert was allowed to renounce Islam since the Syariah Court Civil Procedure (State of Penang) Enactment 2004 came into force on Jan 1, 2006.
"From the evidence, it is clear that the plaintiff had not practised the teachings of Islam and had maintained her Buddhist faith.
"Although this court views seriously such matters, this court has no choice but to give her the right to return to her original faith," said Othman.
He granted Siti Fatimah a declaration that she was no longer a Muslim, and ordered the defendant, the state Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP), to cancel her certificate of conversion to Islam.
However, he did not grant her application to change the religious status on her identity card from Muslim to Buddhist, saying that it did not come under the court's jurisdiction and she had to pursue the matter with the National Registration Department.
Siti Fatimah, whose Chinese name is Tan Ean Huang, from Nibong Tebal, filed the application in May 2006.
In her affidavit, she said she converted to Islam in July 1998 for the sake of marrying an Iranian named Ferdoun Ashanian in 1999, and had not practised its teachings.
She said Ferdoun left her a few months after they married and she has no knowledge of his whereabouts.
Siti Fatimah said she had maintained her Buddhist leanings and prayed to deities like Tua Pek Kong, Kuan Yin and Thi Kong.
Othman said the court heard testimony that Siti Fatimah prayed to deities and she and her husband went to temples and ate pork.
He said that Ferdoun, as the person who brought Siti Fatimah into Islam, had failed to guide and assist her in her newly-acquired faith.
He also said he regretted that the council was not concerned about carrying out its duty involving the welfare of Muslim converts.
"It is the council's obligation to encourage, support and help new converts and ensure they follow the teachings of Islam.
"The court regrets that the council did not take quick action to save the plaintiff's faith," said Othman.
He said the council should establish procedures to ensure proper supervision of new converts: "If this is not done, it is possible that in future there may be further cases of people coming to court to renounce Islam."
In citing authorities, Othman said that this case had similarities to the Nyonya Tahir case in 2006 except that Siti Fatimah is still alive while the earlier case involved a person who had died.
He also said that the civil courts in the case of Lina Joy clearly stated that the jurisdiction came under the Syariah Court.
Siti Fatimah's counsel Ahmad Jailani Abdul Ghani said the decision was a good start for Syariah law, in that a non-Muslim should not be carrying a document that stated that she was a Muslim.
The council's counsel Ahmad Munawir Abdul Aziz said the council would appeal within the 14-day period, adding that among the concerns was the status of Siti Fatimah's marriage as her conversion out of the religion did not dissolve the marriage.
Approached by pressmen outside the courtroom, Siti Fatimah spoke in Mandarin and Teochew and said she felt very happy as she had been waiting for this decision for such a long time.
After leaving the court and a quick lunch, Siti Fatimah headed to the Kuan Yin temple in Jalan Mesjid Kapitan Keling here for thanksgiving prayers where she also released a cage of birds.
Star Online
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