Center for Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) noted that while Malays have been “constitutionally defined” as Muslims and may not be legally allowed to embrace other faiths, no such restriction exists for non-Muslim converts.
“Non-Malay Muslim converts in the country should be allowed to embrace a religion of their choice, just as they had freely embraced Islam earlier,” group co-president Gan Ping Sieu said in a statement.
“It is acknowledged that Malays are constitutionally defined. The Malay identity includes being a Muslim.
“For a Muslim Malay to renounce the Islamic faith amounts to forsaking its own constitutional identity. However, such constitutional definition of ethnic identity does not apply to Non-Malay Muslim converts,” he added.
Gan’s statement comes amid uproar over the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais in its Malay acronym) raid on a Hindu wedding in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, on Sunday.
It was reported that Jais had raided the wedding following information that the bride had a Muslim name and upon inspection, was later found to be a Muslim as defined on her identification card.
The 32 year-old bride, however, was said to have been raised as a Hindu and that she was only Muslim by name.
It is believed that her father, which had abandoned her since she was a child, had registered her as a Muslim after birth.
Gan said non-Malays who were converted to Muslim without consent have virtually no legal recourse to help them leave the religion and this has strained interfaith relations in the country.
“From experience, there are not many cases of such converts wanting to leave Islam and to embrace another religion to begin with. But despite the small number, such disputes have strained racial and religious relations in the country when they are publicised,” he said.
The Cenbet co-president added that Putrajaya must work towards providing a legal platform for muallafs to embrace the faith of their choice or deal with a situation that could further damage interracial harmony as non-Malay Muslim converts are forced to challenge the current system.
“While some States do provide avenues for this to be done, in practice, it is almost impossible for a muallaf to leave the faith.
“With no ‘solution’ to such aggrieved parties, they have no choice but to challenge the authority” ― often deepening inter-racial and religious rifts for the country at large when they do so,” said Gan.
Cenbet also it was appalled at the way JAIS conducted its raid and demanded that the authority apologise for its actions.
“Intruding into a ceremony of holy matrimony in a Hindu temple, taking away the bride and leaving everyone present in a fix, is most unreasonable and insensitive.
“The raid can hardly be justified in the name of JAIS carrying out its official duty. This is especially so since JAIS is said to be aware of the bride’s contested religious status,” it said.
Malay Mail
No comments:
Post a Comment