The quagmire in which a Hindu woman has found herself in after her wedding was halted by religious authorities, due in part to her Muslim name, can be resolved if she applies to the Syariah Court to have her religious status officially changed to non-Muslim.
Syariah Lawyers Association (PGSM) president Musa Awang (right) said although 32-year-old Zarina Abdullah Majid’s case would be a first in Selangor, he urged her to file her application under Section 61(3) of the Selangor Islamic Administration Enactment 2003.
According to Musa, the law stipulates that the Syariah High Court has the power to declare a person non-Muslim.
“She must find a syariah lawyer with a syariah legal certification (for that purpose),” he told Malaysiakini.
Zarina’s plight first came to light when officers from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department’s (Jais) interrupted her Hindu wedding at a temple in Petaling Jaya and took her away for questioning, suspecting she was Muslim.
Zarina later claimed that although born and raised a Hindu, her estranged father had registered her and her siblings as Muslims, without their knowledge.
She claimed to have attempted to have her religion changed to Hindu by the National Registration Department twice, but was unsuccessful.
Following this, Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (below) has labelled Jais’ move an “embarrassment” to Selangor and instructed the state and Jais to assist her in changing her name and religious status.
According to Musa, Zarina must then prove during trial that she is a practising Hindu and that she no longer practised Islam.
While unheard of in Selangor, he said, a similar case was filed in Penang in 2008 in which the Syariah High Court declared Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah @ Tan Ean Huang as no longer Muslim.
In that case, Fatimah embraced Islam in order to marry an Iranian, but the man later left her, without any reason, and she claimed that while Muslim, she continued to pray to Taoist gods and consumed pork.
Musa also believed that there are many more such cases, but where those involved do not make any application to the court to change their religious status, but later face difficulty when trying to register their marriage.
Syariah Lawyers Association (PGSM) president Musa Awang (right) said although 32-year-old Zarina Abdullah Majid’s case would be a first in Selangor, he urged her to file her application under Section 61(3) of the Selangor Islamic Administration Enactment 2003.According to Musa, the law stipulates that the Syariah High Court has the power to declare a person non-Muslim.
“She must find a syariah lawyer with a syariah legal certification (for that purpose),” he told Malaysiakini.
Zarina’s plight first came to light when officers from the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department’s (Jais) interrupted her Hindu wedding at a temple in Petaling Jaya and took her away for questioning, suspecting she was Muslim.
Zarina later claimed that although born and raised a Hindu, her estranged father had registered her and her siblings as Muslims, without their knowledge.
She claimed to have attempted to have her religion changed to Hindu by the National Registration Department twice, but was unsuccessful.
Following this, Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (below) has labelled Jais’ move an “embarrassment” to Selangor and instructed the state and Jais to assist her in changing her name and religious status.
According to Musa, Zarina must then prove during trial that she is a practising Hindu and that she no longer practised Islam.
While unheard of in Selangor, he said, a similar case was filed in Penang in 2008 in which the Syariah High Court declared Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah @ Tan Ean Huang as no longer Muslim.In that case, Fatimah embraced Islam in order to marry an Iranian, but the man later left her, without any reason, and she claimed that while Muslim, she continued to pray to Taoist gods and consumed pork.
Musa also believed that there are many more such cases, but where those involved do not make any application to the court to change their religious status, but later face difficulty when trying to register their marriage.
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