‘Landmark ruling’ grants Malaysian woman right to leave Islam

A Sharia court in Penang, Malaysia, has ruled that a Muslim convert is free to leave the Islamic faith, BBC News reported on May 8. The woman, Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah, has been given permission to return to Buddhism after the collapse of her marriage to a Muslim man.

Malaysians, and Muslims in many countries around the world, are rarely allowed to renounce Islam. Some Malaysian states even allow the death penalty for apostasy, along with Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Iran.

According to the article, the judge in Siti’s case “used a very liberal interpretation of the law because in many countries converts are treated just like those who are born into Islam - and are prohibited from changing their faith.”

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