It is with a sense of relief that we learned of the long-awaited Federal Court decision on the Azalina Jailani (Lina Joy) case. We would like to congratulate the judges who have exercised their wisdom and courage to come to a decision on such a controversial issue under the intense glare of the international and local media, alongside that of interested observers from across the spectrum of human rights and religious organisations.

We laud the Federal Court's decision - upholding that of the Court of Appeal and the High Court - that the jurisdiction to change the religious status of a Muslim properly belongs to the Shariah Court.

For many of us, this is clearly an issue of administrative procedure. However this has unfortunately been championed into a cause clbre for the complete secularisation of Malaysian society and to undermine the position of Islam in this country by turning it into a human rights issue that of religious freedom under Article 11, in its wake generating unhealthy tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims.

For Muslims to feel euphoric that Islam has finally triumphed is also misplaced. This is not a battle between Islam and the rest. It is simply restoring things in their right place, of respecting the separate jurisdictions of the Shariah and civil courts in accordance to Article 121(1a), and of adhering to procedures.

In our enthusiasm to champion religious freedom, let us not turn our backs on these mechanisms and institutions that have held together our complex society and the source of our much praised religious harmony.

The writer is chairman, Muslim Professionals Forum .