The Lina Joy Case...what a waste of time.

This has been the case of the year for me so far. Lina Joy vs The Federal Courts. For those of you whom are out of touch with this case, Lina Joy was an Islamic Malay (went by the name Azlina Jailani) whom converted to Christianity way back in 97 and appealed to the National Registration Department (NRD) to erase her religious status (Islam) from her IC. She was turned down and subsequently avoided the Syariah Courts to file a case with the Federal Courts. Her appeal was turned down today. She had to go to the Syariah Courts as she being Muslim and this being a case of apostasy , she is subject to Islamic law.


Now, i'm not gonna start lambasting this whole idea of religion playing a major part in actually governing society and the idea of religious laws being above constitutional ones. Its already being lambasted in many blogs already..the whole syariah nonsense and religious fanatism.


What or rather whom i'm going to talk about is Lina Joy herself and a two small things called ego and logic respectively. Lets get down to the basic facts. Lina Joy is Christian, not Muslim anymore, and NOBODY can change that fact. Religion and religious belief is something personal and it can't be forced onto someone like whats being done here. She has taken that path, she has to walk it. But, why on earth is she so adamant about changing a small word on her IC? Is this going to hinder her from practising Christianity and not Islam? Is this going to hinder her from not believing in a religion she has left? Most certainly not! Come on people..its just one word..almost of no real consequnce in real life and most certainly not worth the money spent (she lost the case and hence she must pay her lawyers) and the time lost.


This is logic. Lets all sit down and think this through. Lina Joy doesn't benefit from changing her religious status officially..she is only doing so to satisfy a small feeling we all share. Ego and pride. She is so obviously hurt at the injustice done ( make no mistake. What's going on here is grave injustice) but the bottom line is.....her constitutional rights aren't being violated......YET. Is this small word on the IC going to stop her practising her chosen religion? Are the authorities going to come down on her for practising Christianity?. You may argue that the religious police (crap stuff really) will fish her out. However, they can't lock her away, not prosecute her right to practise Christianity is protected by the Constitution (Freedom of religion )...and it clashes with the Religious Laws. Its a grey area really, but from my point of view, the constitution is final. You simply can't force someone to follow a religion. Lina Joy is safe.


Now, she has gone to the courts over this matter due to one simple fact i mentioned earlier. Ego. She is a person whom obviously wants acknowledgment for the actions she has taken,in this case , she wants the NRD and the government to acknowledge her as a Christian and not as a Muslim. This is one fact. The next matter is, she obviously has a solid reason as to why she turned to Christianity. A Muslim converting to Christianity is rare in this country make no mistake, and i believe, by being officially recognised as a Christian to her is a way of cementing her transition from one faith to another. Its a psychological and emotionally driven course of action she has taken. Its sadly not well thought through..hence the lack of logic.


Her intentions are noble. Have no doubt about that. These kind of matters are a blatant display of religious intolerance here. However, as she isn't being barred from practising Christianity, her fight , i feel , is in vain. If she wants to stand up and make a statement about this issue of intolerance, what better way than to openly practise Christianity and wait for the idiotic muftis to pounce. THEN take them to court and make a much bigger statement. She has ill-timed her protest and should have waited instead of letting emotion get the better of her and causing her to be sent to a low profile Syariah Court.




My arguments are a haphazard above. So lets out things in perspective here and end this post.


BOTTOMLINE:

Lina Joy, in her eagerness , has just lost us all the real battle royale by taking an emotionally and ego driven action. She has chosen to contest a small mediocre matter in court (acknowledgment of religious belief) rather than bide her time and take up the real matter to court.....the matter of religious intolerance and violation of constitutional rights. All she wanted was to practice Christianity. To take the matter of recognition to court instead of waiting to be openly barred from being a Christian and then taking this matter to court, she has lost a war.


'So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win hundred times in hundred battles. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you win one and lose the next. If you do not know yourself or your enemy, you will always lose'-----Sun Tzu, author of 'The Art Of War'