‘Inform after conversion’
I don’t know what the religious authorities in Islam do when a person converts. As I know most conversions are done when you want to marry a Muslim girl or boy, though of course in recent cases older people and sick people have also been converted. Do they go through a course of study to learn about Islam and are the converts allowed to reconsider decisions after agreeing and going through details of the religion. I do know a certificate from a religious official is necessary and it was used in Seremban for Gan Eng For aged 74. Conversion stories here and here.
In Hinduism there is no rigidity in conversation. They don’t check your religious origins, only you get married in a temple or get registered. It is more like whether you want to be married and religion is secondary.
In Christianity a non-Christian can’t get married in church. The spouse to be must meet up with the religious authorities and state his or her intention. Then you have to go through a course of induction plus a few months of study of religious books and when enough knowledge is obtained, a day is fixed on any Sunday , and a special ceremony is performed, in the midst of friends, relatives and the whole congregation which witnesses the ceremony and at the end the new converted person is introduced with a new Christian name and a certificate is issued by the church authorities. This is done for marriages and wilful conversion when you want to be a Christian. Conversions are public and not done in private. There is no secrecy.
PAS spritual adviser, Nik Aziz, believes conversions are life-changing decisions, personal to holder, and nobody else, particularly the family should only know after the deed is done. Is there is any worry that families would object if the matter is known earlier, then it goes without saying the person is unwittingly putting himself at a disadvantage, because the family will naturally think for the good of the person and will say yes if the person wants to do so. If the person is undivided in his intention it is up to the religious authorities to tutor and counsel him to take care of any objection from the family. If the person has mediocre knowledge he can be easily influenced by others but if he is firm how can families change his decision, after he is an adult not a school going student. In fact the conversion publicises to his family his new status and it is not something kept under-cover.
I don’t know why Nik Aziz is so worried. If everything is done in a cloak and dagger manner this only leads to doubts and whether such conversions are above board.
‘Inform after conversion’
KOTA BARU: Converts to Islam should only inform their families about their conversion after they had embraced the religion, as such life-changing decisions should be interpreted as a personal matter, PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said.
There is no need to notify their families before the conversion but as a courtesy, they can notify them after embracing Islam, he said.
“Any decision made about any religion, it mostly comes from the heart and emotions are involved. A decision made from the heart cannot be curtailed by anyone. If the person is confident about the decision, there is nothing we can do,” Nik Abdul Aziz said after attending a national unity programme organised by the state religious affairs department and the Kota Baru Municipal Council.
Around 1,000 people, including converts, attended the programme.
The converts were Malaysians of Chinese, Indian, Siamese and Myanmar descent, as well as foreign converts from Africa and Canada.
On the proposed inter-religious liaison council mooted by the DAP-led Penang Government, Nik Abdul Aziz said that if the council was formed with all religions perceived to be on an equal basis, it cannot be allowed.
It can only take place if the council just wants to discuss religious teachings and if all of the religious figures were willing to sit down together for a mature discussion, Nik Abdul Aziz said.
‘Inform after conversion’
