“There is no compulsion under Islam” is one of the lies we’ve been told about the religion. Seems like the AP is only just noticing that sometimes, there is.
A Muslim-born woman who was forced to spend six months in an Islamic rehabilitation center because she wants to live as a Hindu said Friday after her release that she will never return to her original faith.
Revathi Masoosai, 29, said officials at the center tried to make her pray as a Muslim, wear a head scarf and eat beef, a practice sacrilege to Hindus.
“Because of their behavior, I loathe Islam even more now,” she told reporters. “They say it’s a school, but it’s actually a prison.”
Her case is one of a growing number of conflicts in Malaysia between religious freedom and state policies that favor Islam, the official faith of this southeast Asian nation. The battles have strained ethnic relations in the multicultural nation.
Once again, CAIR will tell us, and most so-called “moderate” spokespeople will tell us, there is no compulsion under Islam. And yet, we keep reading about things like this, and Malaysia keeps passing laws forbidding Hindus to go back to their original faith once they’ve converted to Islam.
Malaysia is considered one of the world’s most relaxed Muslim countries, having enjoyed racial peace for nearly four decades. But it follows a dual justice system. Islamic, Shariah, courts administer the personal affairs of Muslims, while civil courts govern Hindus, Christians, Buddhists and other religious minorities.
Under Islamic law, a person who is born Muslim cannot convert to another religion.
The Islamic Religious Department in southern Malacca state detained Revathi, an ethnic Indian, in January and sent her for religious counseling after officials discovered she had married a Hindu man.
Yeah, that’s tolerant, all right. “Relaxed,” as the AP puts it. So, what have they done to this woman? They’ve taken her child from her, refused to consider her marriage legal, and forced her to live with her Muslim mother while the case is pending—all because she considers herself a Hindu, and married a Hindu man.
The Religion of Tolerance™ strikes again.
When I see the word “relaxed” above, I can’t help but think of its meaning during Inquisition times.
Under Islamic law, Revathi is in mortal danger. The general rule under sharia is that she must be counseled (with torture if required) to return to Islam. By all the four main schools of Islamic jurisprudence, an apostate who has beyond a doubt left Islam, must be killed. The apostate is given 3 days to utter the shahada, otherwise the apostate is subject to be put to death. Under three of the main four schools, even in the case of a woman, she must be put to death. In the case of the Malikites, a nursing woman must be postponed until she is done nursing.
I have customers in Malaysia. The legal structure as described is correct. However, Malaysian tolerance is now a myth. There a now militant Islamic groups all over the country.
Culturally, there is an interesting dynamic there. Like a lot of countries that produce mostly oil, the native populace seems to live feet up and brain in neutral, since they get a share of the oil revenues via rebate from the government. Most of the actual workers in the country seem to be laborers from India and ethnic Chinese, who seem to staff most of the IT operations I deal with. The native Malay seem to resent the Chinese because they are educated and successful and because they are Christian. It reminds me of the resentment of Jews (except for the Christian part).
I especially like the term “religious counseling.” To Americans it evokes an image of a fatherly pastor, perhaps in a cardigan, quietly conversing with a congregant, perhaps praying together. I have a sneaking suspicion that the actuality in this case is a bit different.