Mum wants Islamic Centre to reverse conversion of her kids
M. Indira Gandhi went through it in 2010. And now another …
(The Star) – A 29-year-old woman whose estranged husband allegedly had their two children converted to Islam without her knowledge wants the Islamic Centre here to reverse the decision.
She claimed that staff from the Islamic Centre had converted her children, aged five and eight, following allegations by her 30-year-old husband that she was a woman of loose morals.
“I didn’t even know that he had converted to Islam until early this year,” she said at the office of Hindraf national legal adviser S. Karthigesan.
The couple got married in 2004. They were estranged from February last year.
About two months ago, the woman went to check on her son at his preschool class in Titi.
“When I got there, a staff member told me that my husband had taken him away. Since my husband had converted to Islam, I decided to go to the Islamic Centre in Seremban to report that my kids and I would not be embracing Islam,” she said.
However, she was shocked when she saw her lorry driver husband and their two children at the centre.
“He even picked up my daughter from school and took both of them to the centre where they were converted. I argued with an ustaz and my husband there that this was unconstitutional but I was told by the ustazto come back another day to reverse the decision.”
She said that when she returned the following day, the ustaz told her that the matter was beyond them and that she would have to go to the Syariah Court to seek redress.
Karthigesan said he would file an application in the civil court to reverse the decision.
“This is clearly ultra vires the Federal Constitution. We need to put a stop to such acts,” he said.
State Hindraf chief S. Sivakumar expressed regret that such incidents were still occurring despite assurances by the authorities that the fundamental rights of all Malaysians would be safeguarded.