Though apostasy or murtad is an offence in Islam, human right
activists invoked Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, which guaranteed
religious freedom. Earlier in 2000, the government proposed ‘The
Faith Restoration Bill’, aimed at bringing back the recalcitrant Muslims
on the ‘correct path’. The bill was aimed at providing counsel individuals
contemplating Islam and organizations or movements whose teachings
and practices were deemed contrary to Islamic orthodoxy. But a
series of protests by human rights activists forced the government to
withdraw the bill ‘for further study’.