Reading this precipitated a feeling of confusion and unease. The article emphasized on the rejection by senior Islamic leaders of the proposal for non-Muslims, intending to convert to Muslim, to inform their families.
To begin with, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz said, 'based on Syariah laws, there is no nas (quotations from the Quran to prove or settle a point) compelling a person wishing to convert to Islam to inform the family before doing so'.
An argument against this would be the fact that laws, religious or otherwise, need to progress with the ever-changing standards of society, as such, amendments are necessary in order to fill in the loopholes found in present laws to resolve the woes of those inconvenienced by it.
On Wan Mohamad's statement that 'present Syariah laws on conversion and related matters were sufficient and the present practices should be continued', I beg to strongly differ.
One should be able to recall the horrifying, if not heartbreaking, incidents of 'body-snatching' of the alleged Muslim convert, upon their death, by public Muslim authorities from the non-Muslim families. A recent and exemplary case is Gan Eng Gor. In reference the the statement above, how can this be considered 'sufficient'? Also, should the present practices be continued, it would be dreadful to imagine prospective disputes and confusion among Muslims and non-Muslims, should a similar scenario recur.
On a separate note, it is noteworthy to revisit the motivating factor of this discussion. About a month ago, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said the Government would introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.
This proposal remains to baffle me.
In the first place, why was not this made a priority from the start? Like a wedding registration or even a baptism - family members, friends and relatives are there to observe the monumental event. Surely the same principle applies to converts of Islam?
Furthermore, what ever happened to legality of such a conversion? Shouldn't there be paperwork that was signed, sealed and delivered pursuant to the conversion? Or the change of details on the MyKad? Like the government of the day, it is all a big fucking mess.
To begin with, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz said, 'based on Syariah laws, there is no nas (quotations from the Quran to prove or settle a point) compelling a person wishing to convert to Islam to inform the family before doing so'.
An argument against this would be the fact that laws, religious or otherwise, need to progress with the ever-changing standards of society, as such, amendments are necessary in order to fill in the loopholes found in present laws to resolve the woes of those inconvenienced by it.
On Wan Mohamad's statement that 'present Syariah laws on conversion and related matters were sufficient and the present practices should be continued', I beg to strongly differ.
One should be able to recall the horrifying, if not heartbreaking, incidents of 'body-snatching' of the alleged Muslim convert, upon their death, by public Muslim authorities from the non-Muslim families. A recent and exemplary case is Gan Eng Gor. In reference the the statement above, how can this be considered 'sufficient'? Also, should the present practices be continued, it would be dreadful to imagine prospective disputes and confusion among Muslims and non-Muslims, should a similar scenario recur.
On a separate note, it is noteworthy to revisit the motivating factor of this discussion. About a month ago, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had said the Government would introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.
This proposal remains to baffle me.
In the first place, why was not this made a priority from the start? Like a wedding registration or even a baptism - family members, friends and relatives are there to observe the monumental event. Surely the same principle applies to converts of Islam?
Furthermore, what ever happened to legality of such a conversion? Shouldn't there be paperwork that was signed, sealed and delivered pursuant to the conversion? Or the change of details on the MyKad? Like the government of the day, it is all a big fucking mess.
