Life Under Religion

While I was in Kuala Lumpur, I was required to register for the new computerized National Identification Card. I'd been avoiding this for some time. I like the idea of a National Identification Card, and I've faithfully carried my old one around since I was 12. What makes the new ID cards different is that apart from the embedded microchip, the ID card will also clearly list the owner's religion up front. Muslims get "Islam". I'm not sure what other people get. This is to aid the authorities in identifying which court a person needs to be charged at according to the crime, the Syariah Court or the Civil Court. Since Malaysia has two different court systems to handle specific issues, this isn't such an impractical detail to have.

What do you do when you have no religion? Better yet, what do you do when you're atheist? I've had freethinker friends argue with their registrations officers and get ID cards that were religion free. It's possible.

None of these friends were ex-Muslims, or Malay.

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