[UPDATED] Shariah committee to harmonise states’ laws on unilateral conversion, says Na’im

KUALA LUMPUR – Discrepancies between states on laws allowing the unilateral conversion of minors to Islam should be brought to the government’s special committee on the making of shariah laws, said the religious affairs minister.

Eight states currently allow the unilateral conversion of minors to Islam by either parent, while five do not.

Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said the Islamic Development Department had been tasked with bringing the matter to the special committee on the competency of state legislatures to enact Islamic law for harmonisation purposes.

“The committee, which is chaired by former chief justice Tun Zaki Azmi, will refine matters related to the registration of conversions to Islam so that there can be harmony with the laws that are currently in force,” Na’im said in a statement.

The eight states that allow either the mother or father to decide on their children’s conversion to Islam are the federal territories, Melaka, Sarawak, Negri Sembilan, Perak, Kedah, Terengganu and Perlis.

Penang, Sabah, Johor, Selangor and Pahang require consent by both parents.

In Penang, Sabah, Selangor and Johor, the requirement of both parents’ consent is in line with the respective state’s Islamic laws.

In Pahang, the words “mother or father” were changed to “mother and father” in the state enactment in 2020 following the Federal Court’s 2018 decision in the Indira Gandhi case, Na’im added in his statement.

The Indira Gandhi case involved a Hindu mother’s bid to nullify the unilateral conversions to Islam of her three children by their Muslim-convert father. The Federal Court’s five-member bench unanimously decided the consent of both parents who wedded in a civil marriage must be obtained before their child below the age of 18 could be converted to Islam.

Na’im, in the same statement today, acknowledged the recent Court of Appeal decision in a similar legal bid by single mother Loh Siew Hong. The appellate court also declared that Loh’s three children were Hindus.

Na’im said that he respected the Court of Appeal’s decision and urged the public to do the same, noting that the court was bound by the Federal Court’s 2018 decision on India Gandhi.

“I believe the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal judges (on Loh Siew Hong’s case) was made based on knowledge, experience and wise wisdom guided by the provision under the federal constitution as well as the law, in finding the best solution for both Muslim or non-Muslims’ benefits,” he said. – January 13, 2024