KUALA LUMPUR (UCAN) -- Christian leaders have expressed grave concern over the Federal Court's decision not to recognize a Muslim convert's wish to be recognized as a Christian.

On May 30, a three-judge panel issued a split decision rejecting Lina Joy's appeal to have the word "Islam" removed from her government-issued Malaysian identity card. The ruling directed her to approach the Shariah Court should she wish to renounce her faith.

Reverend Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, was one of several Christian leaders who spoke with UCA News after the decision was announced. If the plaintiff "still seeks to be a Christian, she will find it difficult to live in Malaysia," he said. "Lina Joy and all other former Muslims who have chosen to convert out of Islam will find no redress in the country's civil courts."

Catholic Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing of Melaka-Johor, chairman of the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM), said in a press statement issued the same day that the federation is "disturbed and saddened by the decision of the Federal Court."

The Jesuit bishop noted that the court upheld the National Registration Department's "right to insist on a certificate from the Shariah Court that she has apostatized, prior to registering her conversion in the identity card."

He added that such an insistence "has curtailed the fundamental right of an individual to profess and express his or her religion as provided for in Article 11" of the constitution.

According to Bishop Tan, the CFM has "noted with much concern that this decision reflects a growing trend of decisions in the courts where civil courts are abdicating their responsibility of providing legal redress to individuals who only seek to profess and live their religion according to their conscience."

The prelate added that "it is now more pressing for the government and lawmakers to revisit the relevant legislation and to reinstate the jurisdiction of the Civil Courts so that equal protection of the right to choose and express one's religion is accorded to all Malaysians."

Leonard Teoh, a Catholic lawyer who attended the court proceedings on behalf of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, told reporters: "In the interest of racial and religious harmony, something needs to be done. People like Lina Joy should not be trapped in a legal cage, not being able to come out to practice their true conscience and religion."

Joy, 42, was born Azlina Jailani. Years ago she dated a Catholic man, and eventually decided to become a Catholic herself. She started going to church in 1990, at the age of 26, and was baptized a Catholic in a church in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. She then decided to change her name to Lina Joy.

In 1999, the National Registration Department, which is in charge of issuing the compulsory Malaysian identity cards, accepted the change of name but refused to remove the word "Islam" from her card, saying it could not do so without a Shariah Court order certifying she had renounced Islam.

Joy then took the matter to the civil court, citing Article 11 of the constitution.

Malaysia is governed by civil laws but a separate system based on Islamic law -- Shariah or Shari'a -- governs some aspects of Muslims' life. Renouncing Islam is illegal under this system, punishable by imprisonment or a fine. Apostates are also sent to rehabilitation centers.

Muslims comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's 26 million people.

In the verdict he wrote for the Lina Joy case, Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim said: "Apostasy is within the jurisdiction of the Islamic law and the Shariah court. The civil court cannot interfere."

The dissenting opinion came from a Christian judge, Richard Malanjum, who termed it unreasonable to force Joy to go to the Shariah Court, knowing that apostasy is a criminal offense under the Shariah law and she would be punished. Since conversion is a "fundamental right," Malanjum said, "the civil court should not decline jurisdiction."

The verdict represents Joy's last legal recourse in civil court. Legally she cannot marry her Catholic partner without him converting to Islam.

"Yes, Lina Joy has lost, but she has not lost her faith. She has only lost the appeal," Reverend Shastri said.

According to a 2006 BBC News report, other Muslims in Malaysia have converted to other religions but keep their conversion a secret.

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