High Court to decide fate of woman wanting to renounce Islam
By K. KASTURI DEWI
PENANG: The Syariah High Court here will decide on April 24 the position
of a Muslim covert who wants to renounce Islam after her Iranian husband left
her. Court registrar Azzeman Omar fixed the date to enable the present
Perlis Syariah Court chief judge Othman Ibrahim who had originally heard the
matter to personally deliver the decision. Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, 39,
whose Chinese name is Tan Ean Huang, filed an application to renounce Islam at
the Syariah High Court here in May 2006. In her affidavit, the woman from
Nibong Tebal claimed she converted to Islam in July 1998 for the sake of
marrying an Iranian named Ferdoun Ashanian in 1999. She claimed that
Ferdoun left her a few months after their marriage and she stopped practising
Islam. She also said 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. She wants the
state Islamic Affairs Council to declare that she is no longer a Muslim, under
Section 61 (3) of the Penang Islamic Administration Enactment. She also
wants the court to change the religious status on her identity card from Muslim
to Buddhist. Ahmad Jailani Abdul Ghani represented Siti Fatimah while Ahmad
Munawir Abdul Aziz represented the council.
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