Freedom of Religion and Apostasy under International Law: With Special Reference to Article 11 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution

AuthorAhmad Masum & Nehaluddin Ahmad
Pages435-457
Freedom of Religion and Apostasy
435
VI JEAIL 2 (2013)
Ahmad Masum
& Nehaluddin Ahmad
∗∗
The right to freedom of religion is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed in
many international and regional human rights instruments. Several international
documents safeguard freedom of religion including the right to convert from one
faith to another. In Malaysia, the safeguard of this fundamental right is provided
under Article 11(1) of the Federal Constitution with some limitations. The right
to convert out of one
s faith is not mentioned explicitly. However, for the non-
Muslims, this right to opt out of one
s faith and choose another has been regarded
as an implicit part of religious liberty guaranteed by Article 11. In relation to
the Muslims, the issue of apostasy is regarded as a taboo as well as a politically
explosive proposition. This paper aims to examine the concept of freedom of
religion under international law focusing mainly on the issue of apostasy in the
context of the Malaysian Federal Constitution. The paper concludes that the
position of Muslims especially in the context of embracing a new religion remains
unsettled.
Freedom of Religion and
Apostasy under
International Law:
With Special Reference to
Article 11 of the Malaysian
Federal Constitution
Senior Lecturer, College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia LL.B., MCL,
Ph.D. (Int’l Islamic Univ. Malaysia). He may be contacted at: asmad@uum.edu.my / Address: Universiti Utara
Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia.
∗∗Professor at the College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, LL.M., LL.D.
(Luck. India), LL.M. (Strathclyde, UK). He may be contacted at: ahmadnehal@yahoo.com / Address: 06010 UUM
Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2013.6.2.05
NOTES & COMMENTS
436Masum & Ahmad
Keywords
Declaration of Religion, Freedom of Religion, Muslim, Apostasy, UDHR,
ICCPR, Malaysian Constitution.
1. Introduction
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


1G.A. Res. 217 (III), U.N. GAOR, 3rd Sess., Supp. No. 13, at 74, U.N. Doc. A/810 (1948).
2UDHR art. 18.
3Signed on Dec. 16, 1966. 6 I.L.M. 368, 374 (1967), 993 U.N.T.S. 14531:3, available at http://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/
UNTS/Volume%20999/volume-999-I-14668-English.pdf (last visited on Oct. 30, 2013).
4G.A. Res. 36/55, U.N. GAOR, 36th Sess., Supp. 51, at 171, U.N. Doc. A/36/684 (Nov. 25, 1981). See R. Traer, Religion
and Human Rights: “Religion” in International Law, Religion and Human Rights, available at http://religionhumanrights.
com/Research/religion.intlaw.htm (last visited on Jul. 16, 2013).
5Shad Faruqi, documentoF destiny- the constitutionoFmalaysia 352 (2008).
6Traer, supra note 4.
7UDHR art. 18; ICCPR art 18.
8Traer, supra note 4.

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