Muslim burial for Malaysian Everest climber

[sonz]

A Malaysian High Court ruled that a mountaineering hero will be buried as a Muslim, despite his Hindu wife’s claims that he didn’t embrace Islam.

An Islamic Sharia court said the 36-year -old man, M Moorthy, had converted to Islam last year.

M Moorthy, whose Muslim name is Muhammad Abdullah, was a Hindu when he became a national hero in 1997 as a member of the first Malaysian expedition to conquer Mount Everest.

But after he died last week, family members and state Islamic officials struggled to claim his body.

The family went to the civil court and claimed that Mr Moorthy was a practicing Hindu until he died.

But the High Court agreed with government lawyers who said that the civil court had no jurisdiction.

"In this case, the Shariah Court clearly decided on Dec 22 2005 that the deceased was a Muslim and his name was Muhammad bin Abdullah,“ said Judge Raus Sharif.

"To my mind, the Shariah ourt is the court with jurisdiction and competency to decide on the veracity of the deceased's conversion to Islam. As such, the Civil Court has no jurisdiction and cannot act to review the Shariah Court's decision," he said.

Most Malaysians are Muslim but the country's constitution guarantees freedom of worship.