"Religious tussle" over Everest hero's burial
The Islamic Affairs Department and Moorthy's Hindu family are fighting over his burial in Kuala Lumpur. Moorthy was the first Malaysian to climb Mount Everest. The hero, who died on Tuesday, has not been buried yet.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Malaysia's first Everest climber, M. Moorthy, died Tuesday aged 36, but he cannot be buried because of a religious dispute which has broken out over his burial. Kuala Lumpur's Islamic Affairs Department and the dead man's Hindu family are fighting over the body and the religious rite of burial.
The department claims the climber, born a Hindu, converted to Islam in hospital and became Mohamad Abdullah and must be buried according to Islamic rites. His Hindu family vehemently denies Moorthy converted to Islam. "He is a Hindu and always has been," said his mother.
After an all night stand-off at the city's main mortuary, both parties agreed to let the courts resolve the matter. But the department yesterday filed a petition at the Islamic Sharia court demanding the body for Islamic burial. The family asked for the same rights but at a secular court which has no jurisdiction over Islamic matters.
"The matter has become very complicated," said A. Sivanesan, lawyer for the family. Neither court fixed a hearing date in the emotion-charged case, which potentially pits the majority Muslims against minority Hindus.
Moorthy, a former commando, was paralysed from the chest down after injuring his neck. He had been in the intensive care unit since November 11, after a fall from his wheelchair. The first Malaysian climber to scale Mount Everest back in 1997, Moorthy did not regain consciousness after undergoing two operations to remove a blood clot in his brain and another to insert a tube in his throat.
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16/03/2021 10:30
