The religious status of Zarinah Abdul Majid, the bride who wedding was raided by a Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) task force on May 31, will be decided by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the Shariah Judiciary Department (JKSM), said Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“I have seen the report by the National Registration Department (NRD) and also the decision by the Syariah Court.
“We will refer it to the JKSM and the Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide whether we will accept Zarina Abdul Majid’s application,” he was quoted in a report by The Malay Mail Online on Saturday.
Zarinah has alleged that she was converted to Islam as a child by her estranged father, a Muslim convert, without the permission of her Hindu mother.
She claimed that she and her siblings have been practicing Hindus since their parents divorced and their father absconded over 20 years ago. She had reportedly tried several times to have her marriage registered under the Malaysian Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976 before going ahead with the Hindu wedding ceremony, but her application was rejected as the law does not apply to registered Muslims.
On May 31, a Jais task force interrupted the Hindu wedding during which Zarinah was to be wed, taking her away for questioning. The action was described as not being a raid by Jais, which defended itself as saying it followed procedure. Malaysia’s largest interfaith group has condemned the raid/non-raid as being indicative of Jais intruding on the practices of other religions, and Malay-Muslim rights group ISMA came to Jais’s defence last week, saying that the department’s actions were in line with Islamic principles. The Selangor state department, on its part, called the incident “embarrassing”, and has instructed Jais to assist Zarinah in her appeal to change her religious status.
See Also:
Stop in the name of love: JAIS raided a Hindu wedding yesterday
Jais is being confusing about their Hindu wedding raid – which was totally “not a raid”
Interfaith council: “Jais should not have interfered with Hindu wedding”
ISMA defends Jais raid on Hindu wedding, says it’s the Islamic thing to do
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