The tale of two Siti

Two disturbing trends happened today which cause concern to me personally as a non-Muslim in this country.

In the first case, a Muslim-born woman who was held at the Islamic rehabilitation centre for six months for having married a Hindu man was released from the detention yesterday.

The bad news is that she is prohibited from living with her husband. She must stay with her Muslim-parents and is refused a chance to renounce Islam.

In other words, she is being forced to stay in a religion which she doesn’t want to be in.

This is what the woman - named Revathi by her husband and Siti Fatimah by her parents - told reporters today:

Revathi, 29, claimed officials at the centre tried to make her pray as a Muslim, wear a head scarf and eat beef, but she refused.

"Because of their behaviour, I loathe Islam even more now," she told reporters. "They say it's a school, but it's actually a prison."

For more on her case, read here.

And then comes the second incident, which was widely reported in the English dailies today.

This is regarding the Muslim pub singer in Perak who was harassed and charged by state religious authorities for "revealing her body" and "promoting vice".

The singer, 24-year-old Siti Noor Idayu Abd Moin, was dressed in sleeveless top which showed some of her back.

According to the religious authorities, action was taken against her because:

"A Muslim woman is not allowed to serve or entertain a man who is not her husband in a place where immoral activities usually take place."

Siti is fuming, and said:

"I was surprised when the officers told me this top was too revealing...Sometimes I wear something similar when I go out in the day. This is sexy? I don’t think so."

She has been released from a night’s detention on a bond of RM1,000 and will have to appear in a syariah court on Aug 6. Read more of her ordeal here.

Seen together, both these incidents just go on to prove how badly Islam Hadhari, or any form of Islam, is being interpreted in this secular country.

At times, it is as though the religious authorities are blind to the fact that at least 40 percent of the Malaysian population are not Muslims.