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Mother allegedly harassed over unilateral conversion suit
Editor's Note: This story had been amended after the lawyer clarified that he had named the wrong woman. However, due to safety concerns, we have decided not to name the person who was allegedly harassed by the authorities.
One of the 13 plaintiffs in a legal challenge against eight states’ unilateral conversion laws has been allegedly harassed by Johor state religious authorities, her lawyer claimed.
A livid Rajesh Nagarajan told Malaysiakini that the woman - who contended via affidavit that she was a victim of unilateral conversion when young and never practiced Islam - was visited by five state Islamic religious officers at her home in Kota Tinggi around 3pm this afternoon...
Editor's Note: This story had been amended after the lawyer clarified that he had named the wrong woman. However, due to safety concerns, we have decided not to name the person who was allegedly harassed by the authorities.
One of the 13 plaintiffs in a legal challenge against eight states’ unilateral conversion laws has been allegedly harassed by Johor state religious authorities, her lawyer claimed.
A livid Rajesh Nagarajan told Malaysiakini that the woman - who contended via affidavit that she was a victim of unilateral conversion when young and never practiced Islam - was visited by five state Islamic religious officers at her home in Kota Tinggi around 3pm this afternoon.
The lawyer said his 25-year-old client had contacted him to reveal that during the visit, the officers from the Kota Tinggi Islamic Religious Council had questioned her over her role in the civil challenge which happens to also target Johor’s unilateral conversion law.
“The first thing they did (after entering her house) was to scold her for not wearing the hijab when she was at home even though she never considered herself a Muslim.
“Then they interrogated her about why she filed the suit. It is unnecessary for them to scold her for filing the suit.
“This is harassment of the highest order. How dare they harass my client. I am absolutely livid. I would think that once a matter was filed in court, then they should just fight it out in court,” Rajesh said, adding that this should not happen as she is a witness in the ongoing civil court action.
The lawyer said what made it worse was that the religious officers then proceeded to interrogate her three children - aged between four and nine - about whether the kids know about Islam among others.
“My client sounded very scared when she called me, her voice was trembling when she spoke to me. (According to her) Before leaving, the officers took pictures and video recordings of my client and her children as well as their home,” Rajesh said, adding that her brother and husband were both at work at the time and not at home.
The lawyer said that they will be lodging a police report over the incident, and then they would also file at the High Court (Civil) in Kuala Lumpur an application to cite the Johor state government and Kota Tinggi Islamic Religious Council for contempt of court.
Malaysiakini is attempting to reach out to the state religious department for a response over the matter.
On March 3 before the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, the woman and M Indira Gandhi as well as 12 other plaintiffs filed the originating summons to strike down the unilateral conversion laws of eight states, including Johor.
The plaintiffs seek to rely on the landmark 2018 apex court ruling linked to the case of Indira’s Muslim convert ex-husband, who unilaterally converted their three children without her knowledge and consent.
Seeking to nullify laws
The lawsuit seeks a court declaration to nullify the unilateral conversion laws contained in the state enactments of the Federal Territories, as well as Perlis, Kedah, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, and Johor.
Besides Indira, 48, the other 13 plaintiffs are NGOs Malaysia Hindu Sangam, its former chairperson S Mohan, Indira Gandhi Action Team chairperson Arun Dorasamy, the woman and another alleged victim of unilateral conversion, and eight citizens from the states.
The plaintiffs contended that the impugned state enactments are invalid for contravening Articles 12(4) and 75 of the Federal Constitution as well as the 2018 Federal Court ruling regarding unilateral conversion.
They listed the eight state enactments that allegedly contravened the Federal Court ruling over the phrase “ibu bapa” of Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution, which the apex court interpreted as “ibu dan bapa”(mother and father) for the purpose of consent for child religious conversions.
These enactments are Section 117 of the Administration of the Religion Islam (Perlis) Enactment 2006, Section 80 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Kedah) Enactment 2008, Section 105 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Malacca) Enactment 2002, Section 117 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Negeri Sembilan) Enactment 2003, Section 103 of the Administration of Islamic Law (Pahang) Enactment 1991, Section 106 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Perak) Enactment 2004, Section 117 of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (Johor) Enactment 2003, and the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) 1993.
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