Dr Mahathir rebukes Jais for disrupting Hindu wedding
Lee Shi-Ian, The Malaysian Insider
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today rebuked the Selangor Islamic authorities for intruding upon a Hindu wedding ceremony at a temple during the weekend, saying the action went against the teachings of the Quran.
The former prime minister said the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) should study the Quran and find out how to handle the situation.
“This type of incidents originates from not adhering to the teachings of the Quran,” Dr Mahathir told a press conference at the International Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak.
“The Quran gives us full guidance on how to lead our lives. That is why Islam is described as a way of life.”
It was reported on Sunday that officers from Jais had interrupted the wedding at a Hindu temple after receiving reports that 32-year-old bride Zarinah Abdul Majid could be a Muslim.
Checks on Zarinah’s MyKad showed that she was Muslim, and Jais officers took her away for questioning.
The department acted under Selangor’s Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Among Muslims), which outlines offences deemed as acts of proselytisation by non-Muslims towards Muslims, and grants Jais the power to launch investigations and arrest individuals without producing a warrant.
However, the bride said her father, who had abandoned her family, had registered her as a Muslim but she grew up as a Hindu.
