The return of body snatching

Body snatching by officials of the state religious departments has made a comeback. It was a contentious issue prior to March 8 among the minority non Muslim Malaysian community. Beginning with the Moorthy several years ago, the latest to join the list is Elangesvaran Benedict. (New Straits Times July 5 2008) The syariah court has ruled the deceased a Muslim even though family of the deceased have contested the notion based on the fact that the late Benedict had lived his life as a Hindu.

There are two points that is worth noting here. I am pessimistic that the current judicial reforms would ensure the superiority of the civil courts. I am saying on the basis that syariah law is only applicable to Muslims and matters raised are directly related to familial laws for Muslims. I do not, and will not prescribe to the superiority of syariah law in the judicial system based on my above mentioned points.

Second, looking at the number of inter religious cases and the number of body snatching that has been reported in the media, it is fair to say that the victims are general of Indian/ Hindus in origin. Despite of increase in the number of cases, I strongly believe that the Hindus have yet to understand the repercussions of conversion to Islam. In such a scenario, the responsibility of spreading the awareness should be beared by the Hindu Sangam. They should in fact ensure the unity of all temple organisations and use it as a centre for disseminating information. A good example is the manner Catholic churches create awareness through the publication of The Herald.