The unilateral conversion of minors to Islam is a controversial issue in Malaysia, particularly when it involves conflicting legal rights between Muslim converts and their non-Muslim families regarding issues of parental rights, child custody and determination of the child’s religion. Even more pertinent is the fact that the issue of conversion is intertwined with legal and socio-political issues such as the rising Muslim religious conservatism, Islamisation of law and political identity. As such, this article aims to discuss the issues of parental rights, child custody and determination of the child’s religion in the context of conversion to Islam in Malaysia from a legal and Muslim convert’s perspective. To explore the perspective of Muslim converts on the matter, nine participants were interviewed for the purpose of this study and were recruited through the snowball method amongst activist converts and individuals who were involved in related court cases. This study found that the negotiations that have to be made by these converts demonstrate the pressure they face to prove their commitment to their new religion, all the while maintaining their family dynamic. To some converts, Islam and its terms are referenced in the negotiation process, whether through legal channels or through public discourse; further, there are more peaceful narratives that ensure the family dynamics and its integrity, despite the ultimate goal being a da’wah (proselytisation) agenda. Beyond Malaysia, this study shows how religious laws impact the lives of multiethnic and multireligious community.
Although the legal provision with regard to mualaf (new Muslim convert) registration is clearly stated in the state Islamic enactments, there is no any written law to determine the naming for mualaf. Starting from the year 1981, Malaysian religious authority published an official guideline on the naming for individuals who convert to Islam which is lately being criticised by some mualafs. This article intends to discuss the concept of naming from the Islamic perspective, issues related to naming of new Muslims and naming policy that administered at the religious institutions. Besides of that, the article also will discuss the narratives of mualaf regarding the implication of Muslim naming policy towards their personal life, identity, and family dynamic.
Due to a complex legal system in Malaysia, Muslim converts were left with no other option but to negotiate with their spouse to convert or file a petition for divorce in court. This study intends to explore the legal discourse and narratives of Muslim converts on the legal implications of their conversion to Islam, particularly in the cases of dissolution of civil marriage. To obtain the narratives of Muslim converts whom experienced this issue, this study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 9 participants (7 Indians, 1 Chinese, and 1 Bumiputera) whom are high-profile Muslim converts in urban Malaysia. This research has found that some participants in this study shared their narratives on how Malaysian law, both civil and Islamic law, has significant implications that affects converts’ marital lives and family dynamics. This study can become the foundation for an urgent call to revise the relevant laws, especially relating to the definition of People of the Book (Kitabiyyah), the period allocated for the non-Muslim spouse to convert to Islam, and the abolition of legal process of civil marriage dissolution in Shariah court. Beyond Malaysia, this study is important to depict how religious conversion impacts individuals, family dynamics and relations within a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society.
Many Muslim converts in Malaysia are not well-informed of their rights and the legal implications of conversion to Islam. Implementing legal pluralism, particularly the different sets of personal laws that apply to Muslims and non-Muslims, sends the converts, their non-Muslim families, and the religious authorities into bitter legal battles whenever an individual converts to Islam. Furthermore, as religious institutions currently offer no legal literacy program, some Muslim converts are unclear regarding the course of action they should take whenever legal issues are involved, especially from the aspects of identity change; civil marriage dissolution; matrimonial properties distribution; child custody and guardianship; determination of child’s and the deceased’s religion; and inheritance and derivative pension distribution. Therefore, this research explores Muslim converts’ perspectives on the need for and development of legal literacy regarding rights and legal implications of conversion to Islam. This study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 9 participants who were all Muslim converts. Each interview was transcribed verbatim, and the data were analysed with NVIVO software based on a thematic approach. The research found that all participants unanimously agreed to empower Muslim converts with legal literacy, considering many are not well-informed of the legal implications of conversion to Islam, despite it directly affecting their personal lives, family dynamic, and the multicultural society in Malaysia.
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