IPOH, 24 April 2009: Perak Mufti Datuk Seri Harussani Zakaria has urged the government to get views from the Malaysian Mufti Council before making any decision regarding Islam to avoid confusion.
He said the government decision that a child’s religion must be in accordance with the common religion of the parents at the time of marriage should have been discussed by the council beforehand.
“In Islam when the father or mother is a Muslim, the child automatically becomes Muslim unless the child is above 15 years of age and can choose his own religion,” he said here today.
He was commenting on the cabinet’s decision yesterday, announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, that when a parent converted to another religion, the children remains with the religion of their parents at the time of marriage.
In KUALA LUMPUR, several Islamic non-governmental organisations urged the government to review the decision, saying that it was made without taking into consideration the existing laws and views from the relevant parties.
The decision denied the rights of people who converted to Islam, said Malaysian Syariah Lawyer Association president Mohamad Isa Abdul Latif at a press conference attended also by other bodies including the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement and Pan-Malaysian Dakwah and Welfare Association for Muslim Converts. — Bernama
See also: Jangan putarbelitkan isu pemelukan Islam
