Malaysian court backs Islamic ruling in religious conversion case

Jul 6, 2009, 7:51 GMT

   Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's High Court on Monday upheld an Islamic court decision that ruled that a Sikh man had converted to Islam before his death, rejecting claims by his family that he did not die a Muslim.

   The case of Mohan Singh has taken centre stage in an increasingly controversial issue of religious freedom in multi-ethnic and multi-religious Malaysia.

   Islamic authorities had claimed that Singh, a 41-year-old film director who died of a heart attack last month, had converted to Islam in 1992 and therefore should be buried under Muslim rites.

   However, his family said Singh was a practising Sikh when he died and has taken the Islamic department to court in order to reclaim his body and bury him.

   His body has remained in the hospital morgue pending the outcome of this legal battle.

   The family's lawyer said Monday that they would immediately file an appeal, but expressed fears that Islamic authorities would rush for a burial on Monday.

   Conversion rows are common in Muslim-majority Malaysia, usually involving disputes between family members of the deceased and Islamic authorities over the remains of the deceased.

   While some 60 per cent of the population are Muslim, there are large minorities of Buddhists, Hindus and Christians.

   In recent years, racial tensions have been rising with minority ethnic groups expressing fear of subtle 'Islamisation' after several other cases of body-snatching resulted in rulings favouring Muslim courts.