We merely fulfilled family’s wish, says mufti in row over Muslim burial

Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor. (Bernama pic)

GEORGE TOWN: The mufti of Penang says there was no ill intent in the authorities’ decision to give a Muslim burial to a Sikh woman whose conversion to Islam was questioned by several Sikh leaders, saying it was to fulfil the wishes of her family.

But Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said he was open to a court decision on the matter.

He said K Surinder Kaur, 37, who died after she was violently attacked by her lover, was accorded Islamic burial rites at the request of her immediate family.

She said while the Sikh community has the right to voice their objection, the matter can be decided by the court.

“We were merely fulfilling the family’s request as they said she had converted to Islam.

“If the Sikh community is not satisfied, they can bring this issue to court. Let the court decide if our stand is right or wrong. That would be the best solution,” he told FMT.

The late Surinder Kaur, whose family members say converted to Islam before her death.

He said the authorities would allow for Surinder’s body to be buried elsewhere if the court rules that she was not a Muslim.

“I have no objections although I sympathise with her family as we will be going against their wishes,” he said.

“This dispute is between her family and her community. We were merely helping her family,” he said.

Surinder died of severe brain injuries following an assault on Sunday by a 55-year-old man who repeatedly hurled a crash helmet at her. She was buried on Monday after her brother, who is a Muslim, informed the authorities that she had converted to Islam.

The decision did not sit well with a Sikh-interest group, which lodged a police report.

The brother said Surinder had recited the Islamic declaration of faith twice before him and her mother.

Surinder’s family members, including her parents and four siblings, are Muslims. -FMT