Magic Statistics

Lina Joy has lost her six-year legal battle for official recognition of her conversion to Christianity from Islam.  The Federal Court of Malaysia has rejected her final appeal.

Lina Joy lost her final round of appeal when the Federal Court dismissed on Wednesday her appeal against a ruling that the National Registration Department was right not to allow her to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card.
. .  .
On Sept 19, 2005, the Court of Appeal decided that the NRD director-general was right in refusing her application to drop her religious status from her IC on the grounds that the Syariah Court and other Islamic religious authorities did not confirm Lina’s renunciation of Islam.

The three-judge panel split two to one on the decision.

It would appear that this decision gives Muslim legal tribunals precedence over civil courts.  If that is indeed the case, one might well conclude that, with this ruling, Malaysia’s "highest" court has subordinated itself to Islamic shari'a tribunals.

One might also conclude that the constitution’s guarantee of religious freedom is a sham for ethnic Malays who choose to renounce Islam.

Previous related posts:

• High court to rule on whether Malaysians can convert from Islam
• Secret Christian converts in Malaysia

UPDATE (30 May): More details here.  The three judges split along religious lines: The two Muslims rejected Lina’s appeal, while the one non-Muslim found in her favour.

A three-judge Federal Court panel ruled by a 2-1 majority Wednesday that only the Islamic Shariah Court has the power to allow her to remove the word "Islam" from the religion category on her government identity card.

"She cannot simply at her own whims enter or leave her religion," Judge Ahmad Fairuz said. "She must follow rules."

Judge Richard Malanjum, the only non-Muslim on the panel, sided with Joy, saying it was "unreasonable" to ask her to turn to the Shariah Court because she could face criminal prosecution there. Apostasy is a crime punishable by fines and jail sentences. Offenders are often sent to prison-like rehabilitation centers.

My question for Judge Fairuz would be: But why does an Islamic "court" get to set the "rules"?

Police arrested over 4000 Christians who marched peacefully today in Delhi, India, in opposition to the upsurge of anti-Christian violence sweeping the country.

More than 4,000 protestors marched through the streets of India's capital today to call for the Union Government of India to break its silence on violence against Christians across the country have been arrested by the police.

The rally, called "Stop Violence On Christians", was organised after two recently televised attacks on Christians and an increase of anti-Christian incidents in the first few months of 2007.

Police held the detainees for about an hour and then released them all. John Dayal, secretary-general of the All India Christian Council, and president of the All India Catholic Union reports that, while in custody, the protestors filled the police station with gospel singing.

"It was incredible to see Catholic nuns, Protestant pastors, civil society activists and others singing Christian songs of liberation within the police station."

The march was organised after an unabated wave of persecution, public humiliation, and violence against Christians throughout India, typically perpetrated by Hindutva (Hindu nationalist) extremists, often with the acquiescence or connivance of local civil authorities.  Protest organizers stated that Christians have been victims of over one hundred acts of violence in the past six months.

Previous related posts:

• US Hindu groups encourage violence against Indian Christians
• Hindu militants invade Sunday services, attack pastors
• British Hindu tells Christians to stop evangelising in India
• Brutal attacks on Christian leaders in India

One of my favourite bloggers, Dr Mabuse of Ottawa, proprietress of The Kraalspace, has posted an item about last night’s opening game of the Stanley Cup finals.   The good doctor devotes about 80% of her post, not to the hockey game, but to a commercial aired during the broadcast.  She was not amused.

There was an annoying commercial during the game - David Suzuki appearing in some guy's basement to chide him over keeping a second fridge for beer. The guy was supposed to be a typical Canadian - slobby, overweight, with his shirt hanging out. Don't remember his name - might have been Bob. They're always Bob.

Read the whole thing.

I’m glad I didn’t watch the game.

Previous related posts:

• Go, Senators!
• David Suzuki, policy wonk
• Unhinged David Suzuki tongue-lashes Australia

Consider these four individuals applying for legal immigrant status in Britain.  Which three will be accepted, and which one told to get out?

1) Mouloud Sihali, Algerian. Lived at Finsbury Park mosque, breeding ground of Islamic terrorism. Described in court as “unprincipled and dishonest”. Illegal immigrant.

2) Yonis Dirie, Somalian. Drug addict, armed robber and burglar. Convicted of raping a young woman in London. Illegal immigrant.

3) Tul Bahadur Pun VC, Nepalese. Won the Victoria Cross for taking out a Japanese machinegun post in 1944 in Burma single-handedly. Now 84, of unblemished conduct, suffering from heart problems and diabetes and would like treatment here. Legal applicant.

4) “AS”, Libyan. Islamic extremist involved with Milan terrorist group. Court accepts that he is likely to try to kill us all again quite soon. Illegal immigrant.

As the headline says, this one’s easy.  I’m sure everyone has guessed that #3 is the reject.  Rod Liddle of The Sunday Times of London elucidates.

Old Pun’s application was rejected because - and here’s another punchline, in case the first wasn’t funny enough - he “failed to demonstrate” that he had “strong ties with Britain”. How much stronger do you want? There can be hardly a soul who wouldn’t be happy to have Pun here. And not one who could make a case for allowing Dirie, the robber-rapist, say, to get preferential treatment. Some of us would have happily dispatched him back to Mogadishu strapped to a missile.

But even if British authorities wanted to deport dangerous foreigners, they may not be permitted to.  Thanks to an EU directive, don’t cha know?

Up to 3,000 foreign criminals will be released from prison on to Britain's streets without any attempt to deport them, Government papers have revealed.

A note sent to probation staff says as few as 250 convicts from European countries will face even preliminary deportation proceedings every year.

It pins the blame on an EU directive which rules that committing a serious crime is no longer sufficient grounds for removal.

Neither is the Government's desire to deter other foreign nationals from committing a crime in this country.

The directive covers not only native-born Europeans, but also those born elsewhere who have subsequently been issued passports by EU member countries.

In order to deport a convicted felon who falls under the directive’s provisions, authorities must prove the felon is “highly likely to re-offend”  and poses a "present, genuine and sufficiently serious threat" to society.

So much for Home Secretary John Reid’s mandate to ensure that all foreign criminals are subjected to deportation inquiries after completing their sentences.

Previous related posts:

• UK immigration process “makes Bleak House look like summary justice”
• What has the UK Home Office done wrong now?
• Clarke sacked
• Violent crime up in the UK

"Blanket ban has backing" — Edmonton Journal, front-page headline, 29 May 2007

Following a meeting with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates concerning economic agreements between Russia and the European Union, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the EU of speaking arrogantly about democracy and human rights.

'Let's not say on one side we have such pure, white and furry partners and on the other a monster that came out of the forest and instead of legs has claws and horns growing,' Putin was quoted as saying of the EU and Russia.

Fortuitously, Mr Putin denied the hideous nature of his government on the same day that participants at an upcoming international congress of journalists expressed grave concerns about the safety of their Russian colleagues.

In a separate session before the opening of the congress, participants discussed a global campaign against the continuing murders of journalists in Russia.

In chilling footage shown at the start of the session, a female television journalist can be seen stumbling as she chases after a soldier while gunshots are fired overhead.

Participants at the May 28 discussion were convinced of the need to challenge the Russian government and its failure to adequately protect journalists.

But with no government officials present, some speakers said the debate was unlikely to change anything.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) says that Russia is, after Iraq, the most dangerous nation for journalists.  According to the IFJ, 289 journalists, including 47 women, have disappeared or been killed in Russia since 1993.  Journalists are also victims of assaults, dubious police actions against editorial offices, and cyber-attacks.

The graphic image first appeared on the front cover of the [UK] Spectator last July.  This post seems an appropriate spot to re-run it.  No “claws and horns”, but you get the idea.

Previous related posts:

• Happy New Year, Belarus: Your gas is about to be cut off
• Russia on the ascendant against divided West
• Russia no longer a politically free, democratic country
• Democracy not on the agenda at meeting of world’s largest democracies

The collect for today, Tuesday in Whitsun-Week, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 8:14-17
The Gospel: St John 10:1-10