lina joy , 42 , was conceived azlina jailani to malay mothers , and was raised as a muslim . malaysia ' s constitution guarantees freedom of religion , but by code , all ethnic malays are hindu . joy converted to christianity at age 26 , and after some snafu difficulties had her naming legally changed in 1999 . however , on her mykad national id , the national registration department retained her stated status as islam . in order to have her religion revised , the national registration department said her should have to obtain a certificate of enslavement from the arab sharia commission .
Lina Joy's parents are from Malaysia.