Scholar: Forced conversions un-Islamic
By Shanon Shah, The Nut Graph
Forcing minors to convert to Islam is un-Islamic, leading Islamic scholar Prof Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali said today at a public lecture.
"Those who use Islam for purposes not germane to aqidah (articles of faith), for example to legitimise marriage, divorce, or win custody battles over children, are misusing the religion," he said.
Kamali was responding to a question from the floor on the legitimacy of minors being unilaterally converted to Islam by a parent who had converted to the religion.
In a recent case, a Hindu convert to Islam, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, converted his three children to Islam on 2 April, according to his still-Hindu wife, M Indira Gandhi.
According to Indira Gandhi, Ridzuan then obtained a syariah court order on 3 April to claim custody over their children, Tevi Darsiny, 12, Karan Dinish, 11, and Prasana Diksa, one.
Karan Dinish has since stated publicly that he does not want to be a Muslim and wants to remain a Hindu.
