Malaysia Abuzz Over Convert -- Woman Gave Up Islam To Wed Christian Man

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - A woman who renounced Islam to marry her Chinese Christian boyfriend has touched off an uproar in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic nation known for its racial sensitivity.

The case of Nor'aishah Bokhari came to public attention after she filed a 20-page handwritten complaint on Jan. 16 in the High Court, accusing her family of keeping her captive for 41 days with the help of police to prevent her from marrying Joseph Lee.

Bokhari, a Malay Muslim, said she escaped on Dec. 30 and both she and Lee are now in hiding, despite appeals by her family to come out and embrace Islam again.

"I love my family very much, but how can I continue loving them when what they have done to me and my boyfriend? . . . They are hunting us like deer," Bokhari, 25, wrote in her letter to the High Court.

A copy of the letter, signed "Yours in tear and pain," was obtained by The Associated Press. It was submitted in court by her lawyer, who has refused to say where the couple now is.

In Malaysia, where Islam is the official religion, interracial marriages are rare. Still, none of this would have become a talking point had it not been for Bokhari's public renunciation of Islam, which is almost unheard of given the strong community opposition to religious conversion even though it is legal.

"This issue is serious because it involves the dignity of Islam," said Mahmud Mohamad, an official of the ruling UMNO party in charge of religious issues.

Other Islamic leaders also expressed concern, and police have warned that the situation could get out of hand.

"This matter looks small, but it could inflame passions. This is what the police are worried about," Rahim Mohammad Noor, the national police chief, was quoted by Mingguan Malaysia newspaper as saying on Sunday.

Bokhari, a former Citibank clerk, said she converted to Catholicism in October "on my own free will."

Mingguan, a Malay-language newspaper, said Muslims in this country "were shaken by the news" that Bokhari has declared "herself an apostate." Other Malay newspapers and a private television network have covered the case extensively.

Since the race riots of 1969, Malaysian leaders have been fearful that too open a debate on ethnic issues could upset the social harmony.

Malays comprise a little more than half of Malaysia's 21 million people and are almost all Muslims. The Chinese, who are mostly Buddhists with some Christians, are about 35 percent.

On Sunday, a minister in the Prime Minister's department, Abdul Hamid Othman, warned against playing up the issue.

"If a woman desires to marry a non-Muslim, she should urge the man to embrace Islam, and not vice-versa," Abdul Hamid was reported as saying.

Bokhari claims her brother and father helped three unidentified men bundle her off in a car in a well-planned operation while two policemen pinned down her boyfriend. The incident happened on Nov. 20 in the lobby of her lawyer's office block in Kuala Lumpur, she said.

Police did not comment or return several calls made by The AP to get a comment.

In her court complaint, Bokhari claims she was driven to her aunt's house in the southern state of Johor where the family made her listen to sermons by Islamic teachers every day and forced to undergo rituals by witch doctors.

On Dec. 30, she sneaked out of the house and fled with Lee, her boyfriend, waiting outside in a car. Lee now faces kidnapping charges filed by Bokhari's family.

"Dear Mr. Justice, can you please tell my family . . . that I walked out of my house on my own free will?" Bokhari wrote.