Muslim dad irrelevant in daughter’s bid to prove Hindu faith, say shariah lawyers

Does a Muslim parent have a say over his or her child's faith, especially if he or she had abandoned the family?

In a case revealed after a contentious raid at a Hindu temple wedding ceremony, shariah lawyers say security guard Abdul Majid Gulam Kader has no say in his daughter Zarinah’s efforts to change her religious status if the woman can prove she has not been practising the Islamic faith.

They said Zarinah, who was held by Selangor Islamic authorities at her traditional Hindu wedding ceremony in a temple a week ago, was not a minor and the Shariah Court would give weight to her statement.

Moreover, Majid had abandoned the family and this reflected badly on him as a Muslim father and head of family, the lawyers said, commenting on media reports quoting Majid as saying he would never consent to his daughter renouncing Islam.

Majid told The Star that Zarinah and her three siblings were Muslims as both he and his wife were Muslims when the children were born.

“They were born to Muslim parents and that makes them Muslim, too,” Majid was quoted saying.

He said he would not sign any documents needed for any of his four children to change their names at the National Registration Department (NRD).

Lawyer Abdul Shukor Ahmad said the Shariah Court has in the past issued certificates to facilitate the change in name and removal of the word "Islam" in the identity card once it was convinced that the applicants were not practising Muslims.

"It is only for Zarinah to prove that she was practising the Hindu faith, culture and tradition," he told The Malaysian Insider.

He said he gathered from media reports on the case, Zarinah only carried a Muslim name but did not practise the faith.

"The father has no role; he cannot come to court to object or be a stumbling block by refusing to sign any documents."

Shukor said the Guardianship of Infants Act 1961, which applied to both Muslims and non-Muslims, stated that parents could only decide for their children until the age of 18.

Shariah lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman said the Shariah Court would only want to verify her claim that she was not a Muslim.

"The question of her renouncing her religion does not arise because she is not a practising Muslim," she said.

Kamar Ainiah noted that the father had abandoned the family when he left home about 15 years ago.

"As head of family, why did he abandon them when he should have been there to provide religious guidance?”

Kamar Ainiah said the court would give more weight to statements from Zarinah’s mother and siblings in arriving at a conclusion in the matter.

Majid had denied Zarinah’s claims that her parents were Hindus when they married in 1980 and that he was later converted to Islam by a relative while her mother remained Hindu.

He told The Star that his father brought him and Zarinah’s mother, Vasantha, to non-governmental organisation Muslim Welfare Organisation Malaysia (Perkim) to convert her and wed them in 1979.

However, Zarinah told The Malaysian Insider her father left the family home after the birth of her brother in 1990, and her mother was not aware that they were Muslims because she was illiterate.

But Majid told The Star that he was thrown out of the family home in 2000 after he reprimanded his younger daughter for returning home late.

Last Sunday Jais officers interrupted Zarinah’s wedding after receiving reports that she could be a Muslim.

Kamar Ainiah said all Zarinah needed was a clearance certificate from the Shariah Court to enable her to remove the word "Islam" from her identity card and legally register her civil marriage. – June 9, 2014.