A transgender Malaysian, Nur Sajat, a cosmetics entrepreneur, reportedly announced in a video that she wanted to renounce Islam, and she has since received death threats.
She announced her decision to quit the religion because she was targeted by anti-trans people despite her not doing anything wrong.
It is believed that Sajat is currently in hiding, after she reportedly failed to appear at a Syariah High Court hearing in February on charges of “insulting Islam by dressing up as a woman” at her beauty centre during a religious event back in 2018.
The religious authorities of Selangor has since deployed 122 officers to track Sajat and arrest her.
Condemned
A transgender rights group, Justice for Sisters, condemned the move and called it extreme, they said:
“We are astonished by the financial and human resources that are being allocated for this search and arrest operation against Sajat“
“All these actions by JAIS (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) are extreme and demonstrate their overzealousness in arresting and detaining Sajat at all costs for merely expressing herself and her gender identity.”
Don’t overreact, convince her instead
Former minister for Islamic Affairs, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, called against overreaction and to convince her against converting.
“Who are we to judge her? Instead of punishing her, we should continue to persuade her nicely not to convert to another religion. That is the proper reaction.”
Images source: @nursajat24 on IG