Court to hear Sabahan’s bid to challenge conversion to Islam when she was minor
Published on: Monday, December 11, 2023
By: FMT
The woman claims that under Penang’s Islamic laws, parental consent is required for a minor’s conversion to be valid.
GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here will hear a Sabahan woman’s challenge to the legality of her conversion to Islam.
The woman, now 21, converted to Islam as a teenager to marry her then-boyfriend. However, the couple has parted ways.
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She claims that under the state’s Islamic laws, parental consent is required for a minor’s conversion to be valid.
She said her parents did not consent to the conversion.
Justice Quay Chew Soon granted leave for her to pursue a judicial review in a bid to quash her conversion.
The court has set Dec 26 for case management.
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The woman was represented by lawyers Shamsher Singh Thind and Thian Yee Chin, while senior federal counsel Muhammad Sinti appeared for the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
The woman said that her conversion to Islam was carried out at the Islamic Propagation Society International’s office on Argyll Road here on June 11, 2020.
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She said she only agreed to be registered as a muallaf (convert) after she was told that she would not be able to marry her boyfriend if her conversion was not registered.
The woman claimed that after the couple broke up, she tried to have her conversion certificate annulled, but was told by shariah lawyers that it was impossible as under Penang’s Islamic laws she is deemed a Muslim for life.
She said after she received legal advice from another lawyer, she found that her conversion as a minor was unconstitutional because the consent of both her parents had not been obtained at the time of her conversion.
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