Conversion In Sarawak Abang Johari Did Not Contradict The Quran

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 I believe this issue has cropped up again recently. And again. In view of this never ending problem here is some very relevant news from 2018 - from FOUR YEARS back - which I received via WhatsApp. It is being viralled again.
 


 

Sarawak chief minister pledges to amend state law to allow converts to renounce Islam
Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said amendments would be made to state religious law to allow converts to renounce Islam, on March 3, 2018. 

Malaysia's Sarawak state announced it would amend state laws on conversion, following a court case involving three people seeking to have their conversion to Islam reversed.

Sarawak Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg said on Saturday (March 3) that amendments would be made to the state's religious law providing an administrative solution for apostates.

"We will amend any weaknesses in our syariah laws in dealing with apostasy cases. There must be a SOP because we cannot leave people hanging," said Datuk Abang Johari, referring to the need for a standard operating procedure (SOP).

"If that person wishes to leave (the faith), why not let him leave?" he added.

On Feb 27, the country's apex court dismissed the appeal by three Sarawakian Muslim converts and a Muslim by birth to have their case be heard by the civil court.

The applicants were seeking to have their identity cards and official records reflect that they are now Christians.

The country's Islamic law is governed at the state level, and Sarawak's syariah court had earlier ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to issue the Letter of Release from Islam, a document required by the National Registration Department to amend the religious status in official records. The deadlock had led to the applicants to file for their cases to be allowed hearing in the civil court instead.

The Federal Court's ruling last month stated that although there wasn't a provision within the state's syariah court ordinance related to renunciation of Islam, there are provisions under the state's Islamic religious council which can be used by the Islamic court.

Malaysia requires non-Muslims marrying Muslims to convert to Islam if their marriage is to be recognised by local laws. The three Muslim converts in Sarawak fighting the case to renounce Islam had married Muslims but decided to return to Christianity upon divorcing or after the death of their spouse.

While Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation, Sarawak has a higher Christian population than Muslims, the only state in the country with such statistics. In the country's last census in 2010, Sarawak recorded 1.04 million Christians, or 44.2 per cent of its population of 2.35 million. There were 710,815 Muslims in the state, accounting for 30.2 per cent of its people.

Pledging to resolve the problem, Mr Abang Johari said: "Give me six months to do this".

"Sarawak must have a liberal and practical policy," the Chief Minister said, promising to plug loopholes in state religious law.

Opposition pact Pakatan Harapan's Sarawak leaders commended the Chief Minister's move, saying in a statement that it's "not a Muslim versus Christian issue, but merely honouring the rights of the people to freedom of religion".

The coalition had on Friday called on the state government to act on amending laws and providing clear guidelines for would-be apostates to obtain the necessary Letter of Release from Islam.

Hadi Awang said in a Facebook video that "when a person enters Islam, they should understand that this religion isn't like clothes, where you can interchange easily".

he added: "Islam strongly affirms to those who enter Islam they cannot easily be apostates".

(OSTB : What Hadi meant was 'you can check in on your two feet but you can only check out feet first'. His view is apostates should be killed.)
 
Malaysians seeking to renounce Islam have encountered difficulties doing so, with the most well-known case involving Lina Joy, a Muslim-born woman who converted to Christianity. She lost the legal battle to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card in 2007.

A Sarawakian, Mr Roneey Rebit, had managed to win his case in 2016 when the civil court ruled that his conversion to Islam was done by his parents while he was still a minor, thus the applicant could not be considered as having professed to be practising Islam on his own volition.
 
My Comments :  In 2018 Abang Jo said "give me six months". It is 2023 now.


Abang Jo's statement in 2018 was actually quite a tectonic event not only for Sarawak but also for Malaysia and perhaps for the entire Muslim world. It was also a seismic event for the extremists like Hadi and for those who have a liking for religious violence. 
A tectonic event is a movement of the Earth's tectonic plates. It signifies great energy and a massive shift of position (in the tectonic plates). A seismic event is almost always caused by tectonic shifts as well (though not always) but seismic events like earthquakes are deemed as disastrous. 
The Sarawak religious authority had said that "it did not have the jurisdiction to issue the Letter of Release from Islam, a document required by the National Registration Department to amend the religious status in official records"
Err... I have a question : if there should be something called a Letter of Release from Islam   then by the same token, shouldnt there also be a  Letter of "Capture" Into Islam ? 
If you use the word "Release" then are you saying that there was also a "Capture"? Because the opposite of "Release"  is "Capture". Just like the opposite of "Freedom' is 'Imprisonment". 
Obviously the people who wrote this 'Made in Malaysia' law forgot to draft both a Letter of Release as well as a Letter of Capture. 
The Federal Constitution only defines Malays as Muslim. It does not include Indians, Chinese, Ibans etc in this definition. Neither does the Federal Constitution define what exactly is a Muslim. 
Let me provide an example. The Federal Constitution does not say that Shias are not Muslims. 
Since the 7th century AD, many Indians (at that time there was no such thing as Pakistan) have been Shia Muslims :  "Shia Islam was brought to  India during the final years of the (7th century AD) Rashidun Caliphate".

And some of their descendants are now Malaysians as well.  Plus newer Malay converts into Shiaism. So we have Indian, Pakistani and Malay Shias in Malaysia. 
Under most (if not all) State religious enactments in Malaysia just being a Shia is a crime, punishable by three years jail, RM5000 fine and/or five strokes of the rotan or all three. Then there are also the Ahmadiyas or Qadiyanis - equally at risk of being punished as criminals in Malaysia.
So what is the point I am trying to make? The point is if there are such things as Letter of Release  it would have to go back to the 7th Century.  Fact : There are no such things.

So doesnt this contradict the Federal Constitution? The State legislations can jail and fine a person for being a Shia or a Ahmadiya but the Federal Constitution does not say that Shias and Ahmadiyas are not Muslims.
Until today Shias do perform the pilgrimage in Mecca. They are also greeted with Assalamualaikum. Shias pray beside other Muslims in Mecca.  The Malaysian Federal Constitution does not say Shias are NOT Muslims. Yet the State enactments criminalise Shias. So how? Can someone explain? Clearly? 

Because todate it has been just a "tale of the tail with no tail to the tale". Going around in circles. The Federal Constitution dos not criminalise other sects. The State religious enactments do.
But we are thankful to Allah swt that in Malaysia religion is NOT a FEDERAL MATTER. The Mat Salleh penjajah fellows did the right thing by making religion a State matter under the absolute power of the Malay Rulers and the Governors of Penang, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak. 
It is up to the States, through their elected legislatures to determine matters concerning religion in their States. Hence Abang Johari's statement in 2018 matters plenty to this "problem".  
What does the Quran say? Here is Surah 4:137,



Innal lazee na aamanu - Surely those who believe

thumma kafaru - then disbelieve

thumma aamanu - then believe

thumma kaffaru - then disbelieve

thumma azdaadu kufran - then increase in disbelief

lam yaku nillaahi - Allah will not

li ya' fira lahum - forgive them

wa laa li yahdi ya-hum - and He will not guide them

sabeelan -  to the way
Believe, then kafir, then believe, then kafir again, then increase in kafir.

HELLO MUSLIM FRIENDS, do you notice something THAT IS NOT MENTIONED HERE?
HELLO MY CLEVER MUSLIM FRIENDS, WHAT IS NOT MENTIONED HERE? 
YOU ARE SO QUICK AND READY TO POUNCE ON YOUR FELLOW MUSLIMS AND HUMAN BEINGS. YOU THINK YOU ARE SO CLEVER.  BUT SOMETHING IS NOT MENTIONED HERE. 
WHAT IS NOT MENTIONED HERE IN SURAH 4:137 ?
Your punishment is not mentioned here at all. 
Those who believe, then kafir, then believe, then kafir again, then increase in kafir, Allah swt will not forgive them and he will not guide them to the way.
I hope Abang Johari will take due note.  
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.By Syed Akbar Ali 

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