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Hindu widow in Malaysia appeals against husband's Islamic burial

Hindu Voice UK, February 2006

The Hindu widow of a slain soldier has filed an appeal against a Civil Court in Malaysia for failing to prevent her husband's Muslim burial by Islamic authorities. Maniam Moorthy was a former commando for the Malaysian armed forces. He died on 20th December 2005. Islamic authorities took his body after he died, claiming that he was a Muslim. However Moorthi's family, including his wife Kaliammal Sinnasamy, had not heard that he had changed religion at any point before his death. They wanted custody of Moorthi's body so that they could arrange his funeral and cremation as per Hindu customs.

Malaysia is an Islamic nation that has Shariah (Islamic law) courts running parallel to civil courts. The High Court ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the Shariah Court. Being a non-Muslim she couldn't file a petition in the Shariah court, which didn't even recognise the validity of the couple's marriage. The implication is that non-Muslims have no recourse to justice in a dispute with Muslims because they could neither appeal to the Islamic justice system nor to the civil system.

Kaliammal has petitioned the Court of Appeal, and called for clarification on the above issues. She hopes to exhume the body, if her appeal is successful, and perform a Hindu cremation.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has promised to review any unfair laws, but has flatly refused to consider enlarging the constitutional rights of the Civil Courts to dispute rulings by the Shariah Court, despite the latter's ambiguity. This has led to sharp reaction by politicians belonging to minority groups in the country.

Muslims are estimated to form 55% of Malaysia's 24 million population. Hindus comprise about 8%. There are also significant Buddhist, Taoist, Christian and Shaman populations.