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December 28, 2005

Malaysia: Muslim Death Ruling Causes Widow's Anguish

A report covered today by UPI in Washington Times, API in Japan's MSN - Mainichi and the BBC states that a paralysed ethnic Indian and Hindu mountaineer who died recently has been ruled by a court in Malaysia to have died a Muslim, against his wife's protestations.

M. Moorthy, who died on December 20 was buried today with full Islamic rites after the High Court ruled that he had converted to Islam in October 2004. He been involved in a Malaysian expedition to climb Everest in 1997, but had been paralysed in army training a year later. It was only after he went into a coma after falling out of his wheelchair in December that his former army colleagues told the authorities that he had been a "secret" Muslim for a year.

Moorthy's widow, Kaliammal (pictured) has claimed that after his so-called "conversion" her husband still ate pork, drank alcohol and took part in Hindu festivals. In the civil court it was argued that her husband had been interviewed on local television, talking about his preparations for the Hundu New Year festival of Diwali. Kaliammal had applied to the High Court for custody of her husband's body following a ruling last week by a Sharia court that 36-year old Moorthy was a Muslim and should be buried accordingly.

After the High Court's ruling against Kaliammal, Moorthy's body was taken by the Islamic Affairs Department, and washed, wrapped and buried with Muslim rites. His widow was not present at the funeral.

Haris Mohamad Ibrahim, from Malaysia's Bar Council, said: "So much for good interracial relations. The judge has told the widow and her family to go back and leave the body to strangers".

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party promised to raise the issue in parliament, with a call for a mandatory ruling to force authorities to tell family members if religious conversions are legally recognised. "This case reflects poorly on the concept of Islam Hadhari (progressive Islam) advocated by the prime minister. If such matters are left unattended they can cause unhappiness and disharmony," he said.

At no stage in the proceedings of either the Sharia court or the High Court did the Islamic Affairs Department produce any documentary evidence to prove their case that Moorthy had converted.

Kaliammal was too distraught to speak after the case today, but her lawyer announced: "She says...anybody can take the body, but her husband's soul is still with us."

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at December 28, 2005 7:49 AM

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