Fatimah Tan Abdullah, a Malaysian woman, has been granted permission by the Sharia Appeals Court to return to Buddhism, after her Muslim husband divorced her. Ordinarily a Muslim in Malaysia is not permitted to convert to another religion, but people from other religions may convert to Islam. The court ruled that the woman was never truly a Muslim because she did not fulfill all the conditions necessary to fully convert. This ruling comes at a time when religious minorities in Malaysia, including Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians, have felt more discrimination in Malaysia’s court system, despite the fact that there is a separate Sharia court for Muslims, and a secular court for others. Tan claimed that she converted to Islam only so that she could marry her Iranian husband, but she never practiced Islam and has remained a Buddhist. Read more here.
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