Moderate Muslim Nation?

Some time back, I heard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cite Malaysia as moderate. If she still believes her own statement, then Ms. Rice needs to study up on the situation with Lina Joy, who converted to Christianity 17 years ago and whose plight hasn't received nearly the same amount of media attention as that of Abdul Rahman.

Article from the May 31, 2007 edition of the Middle East Times, emphases mine:

The woman at the center of a religious controversy in Malaysia has accused the country's highest court of denying her fundamental rights in rejecting her bid to be legally recognized as Christian, her lawyer confirmed Thursday.

Lina Joy's comments came a day after Malaysia's Federal Court rejected her attempt to win recognition of her conversion from Islam.

Joy, 43, had sought the removal of the word "Islam" from her national identity card.

But the Federal Court, the highest secular legal body, threw out her case and said that only an Islamic Sharia tribunal could legally certify her conversion....

Read the rest at Always On Watch.