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.
noyawns said,
April 13, 2008 @ 9:34 pm
I’m concerned with this ‘inform after conversion’ thing - mainly because if my husband converts without informing me, my civil marriage is automatically dissolved when he becomes a Muslim, and he may then try to convert my minor-age children - as in the Subashini case?
I would want him to be a man - tell me first that our marriage is at an end, divorce in civil court, decide custody of the children, then as a free man - he can convert as he pleases. If we married incivil registry, why does conversion offer him an Out that allows him to shirk all husbandly and fatherly responsibilties?
I agree that conversion (to any religion) is an important step for anyone - and one decision made that should not be hindered by anyone, but neither should it be an escape route for anyone to run from responsibilities.
I met a lovely 14 year old Syrian girl on a train in Europe - traveling with her parents, and she chatted with me to practise her English. After a bit, I asked her about her life in Damascus - and if she is Muslim - her answer intrigued me: “My mother is a Christian, and my father Moslem - I’m only 14, when I’ve studied more then as an adult I will decide which way to go”! I know that when this girl decides to become a Moslem/Christian, she will do so with all her heart, not because her father converted her at birth!
Malaysia Boleh?!
aarvidi said,
April 14, 2008 @ 8:13 am
Hi noyawns,
The Little Mullah Napoleons of this country are worried that if the person wanting to convert informs his family, the chances are the person concerned would have a second opinion and he or she may offer resistance to the new religion. That is why they want secrecy, a closed environment, where it becomes easier to manipulate and have their way. This enforced method is a mockery where all religions talk about love. If there is love, the spouse, the children, parents and others should be thought of, rather than have a ‘why do I care’ attitude.
Yes, as you say, if it is a male he should wind up his business in the religion he is, ensure the welfare of the family, and then go ahead with the conversion – if he has decided to move on to a new religion and his freedom of choice must be respected. But some males, sorry to say, are taking the easy way out, convert and automatically the wife loses her status. This is the anomaly found in Islamic teachings. A person like that is a worm not considered a human anymore.
In Indonesia and in India, you marry without converting to Islam. Since Islam is universal, I don’t understand the different interpretation in this country.