PAS: Jais raid on Hindu wedding helped save a Muslim
(Malaysian Times) – A PAS leader PAS has claimed that the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department’s (Jais) raid on a Hindu wedding was done for the sake of protecting a Muslim bride.
“For Muslims, Jais’ action was warranted because it helped save a Muslim from crossing over the lines of Islam,” PAS central committee member Dr Ridhuan Mohd Nor said in a statement.
It was reported earlier that Jais took to raiding the wedding in Petaling Jaya on Sunday after receiving reports that the bride was a Muslim woman.
Sinar Harian quoted Jais sources as saying that the wedding card showed the bride using a Muslim name.
During the raid, officers asked the bride to produce her identification card and on it was stated that she was a Muslim.
The bride was then asked to give a statement at the Jais headquarters.
Yesterday, Hindraf condemned the raid as unlawful, unconstitutional and encourages unnecessary disturbance to the peace enjoyed between the communities.
“This action by Jais clearly shows disrespect to the sensitivities of Non- Muslims and their places of worship.
“Their act is a clear crossing the boundary of their jurisdictions,” stressed its chairman P. Waytha Moorthy.
It was reported that, the bride, Zarena Abdul Majid clarified that although on paper she was registered as a Muslim, she had been practising as a Hindu since a child.
She denied that she was forced into a Hindu marriage, saying that she and her siblings were raised as Hindus by their mother.
According to Malay daily Harian Metro, Zarena’s father had converted to Islam without informing his wife.
“My father embraced Islam before I was born. My mother could not read. She was not aware that my father had registered my siblings and I as Muslims,” Zarena was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.
Zarena added that she had tried to change the religion in her MyKad to Hindu in 2007 but failed when the National Registration Department officer told her she needed her father’s signature.
Her father, according to Zarena had been missing in action after her youngest sibling was born, 24 years ago.
