Boy Caned For Bringing Pork To School

Obviously this did not take place in the US--but rather in Malaysia, where a child can be caned for bringing non-halal meat to school

Boy caned for bringing pork to school

Malaysia's parliament this week debated whether or not it was right for teachers to cane a 10-year-old boy for bringing pork to school.

But the story gets complicated. The parliament is not going to discuss whether non-halal meat can be brought into the school or if the school exceeded its authority in caning him.

Instead, the parliament is going to take it upon itself to decide whether or not the boy should be considered a Christian or a Muslim:

The Malaysia Star reported the argument centered on whether the boy, who was caned 10 times across the hand for eating a home-cooked meal of fried rice with pork, is Muslim or Christian. If the boy was Christian he would not have broken any rules by eating pig products.

Angela Jabing said her son Basil was disciplined for eating a non-Halal meal. She is a Christian and her husband, Beginda Minda, has denied being a Muslim.

The Star reported that a decree issued by the National Fatwa Council means that if either parent is Muslim the child must be Muslim.

"I admit I was a Muslim before. But in 1999, I changed my religion. Now I am a non-Muslim," Beginda said.

The government is now investigating whether Beginda is a Muslim or non-Muslim.

"Only after this can conclusions be drawn on why his son was caned," said government minister Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz.

So the state will decide whether or not the fact the father converted from Islam to Christianity is to be recognized.

If the conversion is recognized and the father is considered a Christian--then the boy is a Christian, and should not have been caned. It's not clear if that would mean the boy would be allowed to bring pork to school in the future.

On the other hand, if the father's conversion is not recognized, then the boy is to be considered a Muslim--regardless of how the parents see themselves and their son, and the school is right in what they did and may do so in the future.

But this problem of recognizing conversions is not exceptional.

The New York Times reported in 2006 about Lina Joy, who wanted her conversion to Christianity recognized so she could marry:

From the scant personal details that can be pieced together about Lina Joy, she converted from Islam to Christianity eight years ago and since then has endured extraordinary hurdles in her desire to marry the man in her life.

Her name is a household word in this majority Muslim country. But she is now in hiding after death threats from Islamic extremists, who accuse her of being an apostate.

Five years ago she started proceedings in the civil courts to seek the right to marry her Christian fiancé and have children. Because she had renounced her Muslim faith, Ms. Joy, 42, argued, Malaysia’s Islamic Shariah courts, which control such matters as marriage, property and divorce, did not have jurisdiction over her.

In a series of decisions, the civil courts ruled against her.[Hat tip: Volokh Conspiracy]

In May 2007, Lina Joy lost her appeal:

[Chief Justice]Ahmad Fairuz said the NRD's [National Registration Department] action was reasonable when it asked Lina for verification from the syariah court on her religious status, and that the NRD was free from any wrongdoing when it made the request.

He said if the court were to rule that the NRD's refusal was unreasonable, it would mean that the NRD would have to accept that a person was no longer a Muslim just by claiming that he/she had renounced Islam.

...He said a person who wanted to renounce his/her religion must do so according to existing laws or practices of the particular religion. Only after the person has complied with the requirements and the authorities are satisfied that the person has apostatised, can she embrace Christianity, he added.

"In other words, a person cannot, at one's whims and fancies renounce or embrace a religion," he said.

This does not bode well for Beginda Minda-- and even the case of a woman who successfully had her conversion from Islam to Buddhism offers little hope:

As far as is known, only one person has ever been allowed to leave Islam in Malaysia. An 89-year old woman named Nyonya Tahir who converted to Buddhism in 1936 had her decision accepted – 69 years later ‑ in 2006, after she had died.

And all this is happening in Malaysia, which is supposed to be one of the more moderate Muslim states.
So much for that idea.

Technorati Tag: Muslim Conversions and Nyonya Tahir and Lina Joy.