It is official. A Christian, if the state says so, is a Muslim!
PUTRAJAYA, May 30 (Bernama) — Azlina Jailani, the woman who converted to Christianity, today failed in her appeal to get the Federal Court to compel the National Registration Department (NRD) to drop the word “Islam” from her identity card.
In a 2-1 majority decision, the court ruled that Azlina, 42, who changed her name to Lina Joy, should obtain a Syariah Court order confirming her apostasy before the department could delete the word. [Federal Court Dismisses Lina Joy’s Appeal To Drop Islam In IC. Bernama. May 30 2007]
But oh well, if the majority says 1 plus 1 is 3, the majority wins.
On more serious note, there is really no point of having the identity card stating which religion does one belong to. Unless, of course, if one wants to practice discrimination.
In fact, if most Muslims in Malaysia are obsessed in keeping that label, they should label themselves just like how the Nazi labeled the Jews back in the 1930s and 1940s. These Muslims however would probably wear it proudly anyway.