Nasrudin Hassan claimed that although Article 11 of the Federal Constitution has guaranteed freedom to worship, the majority Muslims are purportedly being forced to compromise. ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 — A PAS MP has claimed today that a proposed amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act (LRA) to ban unilateral child conversions will rip away a child’s Islamic faith.

PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan also lamented that Putrajaya has allegedly only taken into account the interest of religious minorities, and not mainstream Muslims, with the Bill.

“It is unfortunate that the Government only takes into account the views of only non-Muslims and ignore the demands of the mainstream Muslims,” the Temerloh MP said in a statement today.

Nasrudin claimed that although Article 11 of the Federal Constitution has guaranteed freedom to worship, the majority Muslims are purportedly being forced to compromise.

“The issue of a child’s faith must be defended by all Muslims. This amendment will rip away the faith of small kids and award victory to the IFC’s fight that we have together rejected in totality once before.

“But why do we now want to accept this IFC’s struggle that is being brought separately?” he asked.

IFC referred to the Interfaith Commission of Malaysia, a body formed in 2005 by civil society, professional and political groups as conciliatory and advisory body among the country’s various creeds.

Putrajaya will table the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) (Amendment) Bill 2016 for second reading in Parliament this sitting, the highlight being the inclusion of a new Section 88A that explicitly states that “both parties” in a civil marriage must agree for the conversion of a minor into Islam.

Specifically addressing the “Religion of a Child” in civil marriages where one spouse has converted to Islam, the amendment also said that the child will remain in the religion of the parents at the time of marriage until the child is 18 years old, when he may choose his own religion.

In November last year, PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan had warned that Muslims may seek to derail the LRA amendment if non-Muslims continue to oppose its president’s private member’s Bill to upgrade Shariah courts.

Custodial tussles in cases of unilateral child conversions have been a growing concern over the years and provide a high-profile glimpse of the concerns of Malaysia’s religious minorities over the perceived dominance of Islam in the country.

It also highlights the complications of Malaysia’s dual legal systems where Muslims are bound by both civil and Shariah laws, the latter of which do not apply to or recognise non-Muslims.