Islamic Resurgence and the Ethnicization of the Malaysian State: The Case of Lina Joy

Lina Joy, born Azlina Jailani, a Malaysian convert from Islam to Christianity, managed to change her name in her Malaysian identity card (MyKad ) but her religion remained listed there as Islam. What does the case of Lina Joy tell us about Malaysian society? In this paper, the case is interpreted against the backdrop of the global resurgence of Islamic movement where the field is set by liberal and neofundamentalist modern interpretations of Islam as opposed to traditional, “pristine” Islam confined to traditional communities, societies and cultures. In Malaysia, the distinction between ‘modern’ and ‘traditional’ interpretations of Islam is reflected in the different positions taken on the Lina Joy issue. On the one hand, feminist and women’s movements, among other ‘grass-root’ movements, clearly finds justification in the western discourse of human rights, for example, where “modern” western concepts are used to defend the rights of women as well as Muslims. On the other hand, spokesmen of the Malay majority seem more comfortable with the rhetoric of traditional Islam mixed with Malaysian political considerations. In addition, in Malaysia, where Malay identity is identical with Muslim identity, the resurgence of Islamic movement has implications on the nature of majority Malay rule, i.e., on the ethnicization of the state.