PM: Tell your family before you convert

Friday April 11, 2008
By V.P. SUJATA

PUTRAJAYA: The Government will soon introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this would prevent problems of families disputing the conversion of their loved one s when they die.

He suggested that non-Muslims who intend to convert have a form or letter declaring that their families had been told and had understood his or her decision.

Noting that there was no such regulation at present, Abdullah advised them to inform their families to “make things easier for every one .”

“We will have a regulation. When a person wants to convert to Islam, we have to ask him whether his wife knows abo ut it. If people want to convert, there is nothing wrong, why must they hide? Tell them (the family).

“We don’t want problems later when the man converts and converts the children also, when the wife has rights too,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the National Council on Islamic Religious Affairs here yesterday.

Abdullah pointed out that withholding such information from the family would pose a problem to religious authorities performing their duties.

He said he told those at the meeting that religious is sue s were “very sensitive” and should be tackled wisely to avoid racial tension.

This included the demolition of places of worship and funeral disputes, he said.

Abdullah also said that it was agreed that the halal certificate would now be is sue d by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HIDC) but would still bear the logo of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

He said the meeting also discussed the assimilation of Jakim’s research officers into the HIDC.

P/S : IMAGINE THESE SCENES

Scene 1

"Mum, I want to be a Muslim."
"What?! Are you out of your mind?"
"No, I'm perfectly sane. I just want to believe in another God called Allah."
"You must have been charmed. Who is your Malay girl friend?"
"I don't have a Malay girl friend. I don't even have a girl friend at all."
"Then why on earth do you want to be a Muslim for? Don't you love your family anymore? Why do you want to put us to shame by being a Muslim? Isn't being a Buddhist/ Taoist/ Christian/Hindu good enough for you?"
"I don't believe in that anymore."
"Well you can believe in anything you want but don't be a Muslim."
"Can't we talk without you raising your voice?"
"I'm angry with you. I am your mother. I have every right to raise my voice! You are going to disgrace me and your family."

Minutes later.

"Mum! Why are you taking my stuff from the cupboard?"
"I'm throwing them away. They are making you crazy."
"Mum, those are my translations of the Quran and my prayer mat. They are my things. You have no rights to throw them away."
"You dare to talk to me like that? You ungrateful son! After everything I and your father sacrifice to bring you up, give you an education? Now you want to bring shame to us by being a Muslim? What's so good abo ut being a Muslim anyway? You can longer take part in our religious ceremonies, and you can never turn back and be a Buddhist/Taoist/Christian/Hindu again."
"I am still your son."
"Go! Leave this house if you want to be a Muslim. Be a Muslim and you are no longer my son!"
"Mum, I need you to sign this form."
"What form?"
"This form will prove that you have been informed abo ut my intention to be a Muslim."
"What?!"
"So can I have your signature?"
Shrekkkk!!!
"Mum! Why did you tear the form?"
"Do you think I'd be crazy to allow you to convert into Islam? Over my dead body!"
"But... but I'll still be your daughter even after being a Muslim."
"If you consider me your mother don't even dare to bring up this is sue again. I will never agree to have a Muslim for a daughter."

Scene 2

"I am going to convert to Islam next week."
"So you fina lly confess that you have a boyfriend."
"Look, I'm telling you that I'm going to be a Muslim, whether you like it or not. It is the new requirement that non-Muslims have to inform their family members before converting. And for your information, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Good then, go ahead and be a Muslim. I will contact my lawyer. The children will belong to me." "Why do you have to bring the children into this?"
"Because they will have to know that their mother deserts them for a Muslim man."
"I've told you, I don't have a Muslim boyfriend. And I am still their mother, and I have my rights towards them too."
"Then why do you want to convert to Islam? Why can't you be a free-thinker? I have never forced you to pray before the gods?"
"I want to live my life as a Muslim. I've waited long enough. It's abo ut time I come out from the closet. You can choose to follow my footsteps and be a Muslim or you can remain in your religion. If you don't, we will divorce."
"I will not divorce you. And when you convert to Islam, you no longer have the rights to divorce me under your Syariah law. Don't think I don't know abo ut Islamic laws. Only I will have the right to divorce you in the civil court. We'll see how you live your life without a husband (since you can't remarry if I refuse to divorce you) and your children. I will make sure you lose your visitation rights to the children, so that you can't convert them along with you."
"Look can't we be civil to each other?"
"Civil? You stop this nonsense, continue your life as a non-Muslim and we can forget abo ut this whole conversation."

Scene 3

"Alhamdulillah... syukur kerana saudari diberi hidayah olehNya untuk memeluk agama Islam."
"Cik sila isi borang ini."
"Cik sudah beritahu ahli keluarga Cik tentang hasrat Cik hendak memeluk Islam?"
"Sudah. tapi..."
"Tapi apa?"
"Mereka membantah."
"Oh begitu... mana borang persetujuan daripada ahli keluarga Cik?"
"Minta maaf Tuan. Saya gagal mendapatkan persetujuan mereka. Keluarga saya telah membantah hasrat saya untuk memeluk Islam. Malah borang yang saya serahkan juga telah dikoyak."
"Kalau begitu Cik tunggu sebentar. Saya perlu menghubungi pihak atasan untuk mendapatkan nasihat."
"Tuan, tak bolehkah saya memeluk Islam sek ara ng juga?"
"Sabar Cik, sabar... kami perlu ikut peraturan. Kami tidak mahu berlaku masalah pada masa hadapan."
"Tak bolehkah pihak tuan membenarkan saya memeluk Islam dahulu, baru memberitahu keluarga saya? Apa akan jadi sekiranya saya keluar daripada pejabat ini dan mati dilanggar kereta tanpa berpeluang mengucap dua khalimah-syahadah?"
"Sabar Cik... Ini peraturan baru."

I rest my case. (taken with few alteration from pukullima.blogspot.com)