Last Updated: Friday, 6 July 2007, 17:57 GMT 18:57 UK
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Malaysia 'convert' claims cruelty By Jonathan Kent BBC News, Kuala Lumpur
Revathi Massosai alleges harsh treatment in detention A Malaysian woman held for months in an Islamic rehabilitation centre says she was subjected to mental torture for insisting her religion is Hinduism.
Revathi Massosai, the name by which she wants to be known, says she was forced to eat beef despite being a Hindu.
Miss Massosai was seized by the Islamic authorities in January when she went to court to ask that she be registered as a Hindu rather than a Muslim.
The case is one of a number that have raised religious tensions in Malaysia.
Miss Massosai was born to Muslim converts and given a Muslim name, but she was raised as a Hindu by her grandmother and has always practised that faith.
However, under Malaysia's Islamic law, having Muslim parents makes one a Muslim and, as such, one is not allowed to change one's faith or marry a non-Muslim.
But Miss Massosai married a Hindu man in 2004 and the couple have a young daughter.
Headscarf
When in January she asked a court to officially designate her a Hindu she was detained and taken to an Islamic rehabilitation centre.
Only the Islamic courts can allow a Muslim legally to change faith
Her detention was twice extended to six months, during which time she says religious officials tried to m
