Malaysia withdraws controversial one-parent conversion law
6 July AFP
Malaysia has withdrawn an Islamic law which allows one parent to give
consent for the religious conversion of a child, reports said Saturday,
after an outcry that it discriminated against minorities.
The government has previously considered amending existing
legislation so that children's conversion requires the consent of both
parents.
Conversion is a sensitive issue in the Muslim-majority nation where
members of minority faiths say they do not get a fair hearing under
religious courts in custodial cases.
A 29-year-old Hindu woman recently claimed her estranged husband
converted their children to Islam without her knowledge after embracing
the religion last year. Under Sharia law, a non-Muslim parent cannot
share custody of converted children. Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin said the cabinet discussed the issues surrounding the status of a
child's religion when the mother or father converts to Islam, reported
the Star newspaper.
“We agreed that the bill's withdrawal was necessary to ensure that
such cases were resolved in a fair manner to all,” he said. Public
pressure has prompted the government to withdraw the law, said Tian
Chua, an MP with People's Justice Party led by opposition leader Anwar
Ibrahim.
“If the law had been pushed through, it would definitely cause
tensions in society because the law seems to favour Muslims while other
minorities would be denied justice,” he told AFP on Saturday. The now
withdrawn law had come under fire from minority religious groups when it
was introduced last week.Interfaith group Malaysian Consultative Council
Of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism had said in a
statement that the Federal Territories Bill effective for the capital
Kuala Lumpur was unconstitutional and should be withdrawn.
“Any conversion of a minor by a single parent will cause serious
injustice to the non-converting parent and the children of the
marriage,” it said.
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