Lina Joy, 42, was born Azlina Jailani to Malay parents, and was raised as a Muslim. Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but by law, all ethnic Malays are Muslim. Joy converted to Christianity at age 26, and after some bureaucratic difficulties had her named legally changed in 1999. However, on her MyKad national ID, the National Registration Department retained her stated religion as Islam. In order to have her religion changed, the National Registration Department said Joy would have to obtain a certificate of apostasy from the Muslim Sharia Court.
Lina Joy's parents are from Malaysia.