Mrs Tan is crying and begging grand daughter back to her side.
The latest case happened at Pulau Pinang, where her 16 years old relative embrace Islam without information. San Pei Pei @ Siti Aishah Abdullah being sent to Rumah Kanak-kanak Arau at 2 February 2011 after she fight with her aunty at 11 January 2011 and report to Police Station.
News from Sin Chew Newspaper Click Here : http://ikhwanng.blogspot.com/2011/03/16.html
"We are praying to god (Commonly refer to chinese religion), no need to embrace Islam."Her Aunt said
For those who under years 18 must be get admittance from parents in order to embrace Islam at Malaysia.
After I read it at newspaper, I know this is another Religion Bomb at Malaysia.
Of course Alhamdulilah she embrace Islam at young age, she is the one who back to Allah SWT. But muallaf is still have a lot of challenges in embrace Islam... Besides objection from family, politician and lawyer also paying serious attention in this kind of religion conflictual case.
I know this would be possible happen on me too before embrace Islam. That's why I was striving very hard to get a stable job and being independent first. I knew if anything goes wrong and I had to depend on family, they would urge to me leave Islam. Last year I also get to know one student who embrace Islam at 17 years old, unfortunately after half year his Islam Identity being known by family too.. At last his family taking him away to other relative's house and trying to wipe away his "islamic mind". (His relative is a preacher)
I knew him for merely half year and give him a few books. But under advise from my Ayah Angkat : "Stay away from him now, his family are finding who is the one lead him into Islam and made police report. Don't ever answer his calls and pretend we don't know him at all, otherwise we may get into big trouble.."
Hence I lost his news till now.
I am hoping so much to help out those young muallaf, but my strength is still very limited to face the objection from whole community.
He need to be patient, grow up few more years and most importantly :
Being INDEPENDENT.
(Setelah jelas kesesatan syirik itu) maka hadapkanlah dirimu (engkau dan pengikut-pengikutmu, wahai Muhammad) ke arah ugama yang jauh dari kesesatan; (turutlah terus) ugama Allah, iaitu ugama yang Allah menciptakan manusia (dengan keadaan bersedia dari semulajadinya) untuk menerimanya; tidaklah patut ada sebarang perubahan pada ciptaan Allah itu; itulah ugama yang betul lurus, tetapi kebanyakan manusia tidak mengetahui.(Ar-Rum : Ayat 30)
Latest News * 04 March 2011*
Girl convert no longer a Muslim
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The conversion to Islam of a 17-year-old girl has been reversed by the Penang Islamic Religious Department (MAIPP), which decided that her family’s consent had not been sought earlier.
State Religious Affairs Committee chairman Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said MAIPP had withdrawn the conversion of San Pei Pei, 17, as the officer concerned had failed to follow the proper procedure.
Under the law, he explained, consent was necessary to convert any person aged below 18, adding that this had not been adhered in Pei Pei’s conversion.
“The officer involved will be advised to be more careful in future to avoid a recurrence,” he said.
Pei Pei, a school dropout, was reported missing in mid-January.
She was found at a Perlis Religious Department home for adolescents in Arau by her grandmother Tan Mong Chee on Feb 8.
The 60-year-old woman was shocked when she learnt that her underage granddaughter had been converted to Islam without her family’s knowledge.
“I was shocked to see her wearing a baju kebaya and tudung when I visited her at the home. I asked some members of the staff there why she had been converted but none of them could give me an answer.
“They also did not allow me to take her home. I did not know what to do, so I approached state MCA secretary Lau Chiek Tuan and state MCA Public Complaints bureau chief Tan Teik Cheng for help.
“I was contacted by a Penang Islamic Religious Department official and told that Pei Pei would be coming home soon,” she said in Permatang Batu near here yesterday.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/3/4/nation/8187402&sec=nation
According to the NanYang Newspaper :
Finally granmother is smiling.
While today have the result of reversion, She smile happily but still not satisfied about her grand daughter embrace Islam.
"Who is the one bring my grand daughter embrace Islam? I want to know the reason." She appreciate MCA helps.
Who lure the girl embrace Islam?
This case caused another question, WHO is the one bring 16 years old girl embrace Islam? WHO is the religion officer who give permit to her embrace Islam? Family would make police report with these question as for taking action against "related person".
There is nothing we should afraid of for sharing Islam with everyone. I apologize but I couldnt agree with Ikhwan's Ayah Angkat concept although is is understandable his intention but we should be stand firm and if talk to his family instead of pretending do not know him. We have responsibility as Brother in Islam to assist and talk to his family if needed. We might not have the knowledge or strength but we can get someone better like Ustaz Ali Chin to assist. Is not a criminal case to preach Islam or any other religion.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't stay away from him. The family can make all the police reports they want but we are not at fault. They won't be able to charge us anything although it would be a bit messy since the police will find us for clarification but that's it. We won't go to jail. (from personal experience, long story).
ReplyDeleteagree with bro firdaus and sis sarah.
ReplyDeletestaying away is not the right thing to do because it only gives others the impression that the brotherhood/sisterhood of islam is not living up to its ideals of showing support and compassion. i would have felt abandoned by the muslims at a time when i need them the most.
ChunKiat
just for knowledge...how prevalent are underage/minors embracing islam in msia? majority girls or boys?
honestly, i cannot help thinking back when i was 13, a cikgu of mine told me not to convert before reaching 21 of age. could have gotten myself into quagmire. blessing in disguise? Allah knows best.
ChunKiat
There is no such thing as the girl is no longer a Muslim as she is already a Muslim in her heart and no one can take that away from her. They may strip her of her status as a Muslim but in heart she already accepted God.
ReplyDeleteFirdaus Wong :
ReplyDeleteAges is one of the problem, the second is he still depend on his family for further study and living. That case can be very complicated because he also tried to suicide and run away from house.
Perhaps one day I will try to contact him back.
Sarah Lam:
ReplyDeleteLast year I was all alone to face these problems, what we needed is NGO like MRM concepts who involve a group of people striving to protect Islam and Muallaf. Insyaallah all of us stay together in helping more muslim especially those who experienced a lot in facing challenges.
ChunKiat :
ReplyDeleteI understand we should not stay away from them but Malaysia is still have laws against citizen. Mostly after 18 years old is no problem in law (Although they might be difficult in register with Pej Agama). Embrace Islam under 18 is still rare case in newspaper however not sure for official figure.
Also after 18 they would be more mature in handle religion and family issue, although Islam never limit ages and races in mengucap 2 kalimah syahadah.
Anonymous :
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you. As long as she is still beriman and never believe in other god except Allah SWT, she is still muslimah but "unofficially".
Commonly non muslim see Islam as a terrible manacle who limited someone's wearing and way of living, forced of changing their name and so on. But actually those are just misunderstood about Islam.
But is there anyone stand out and explain while this case happen?
Salam,
ReplyDeleteThis type of stories - 'underaged' Muslim reverts- are usually not welcomed by both Muslims [due to the political problems arising] and nonMuslims [for 'taking away' their family member]. Hence when we come across such cases, we have to be very careful and keep everything secret till -insyaAllah- the revert's 18th birthday. Do not think that we who help them are safe as we can be accused under Akta Hasutan and the existing law is actually not on our side.So it's wiser to be a closet Muslim until it's safe to declare/18.
Problem also when Muslims don't come together as a strong group, even people in MACMA & PERKIM who are supposed to help and represent Muslim reverts.Do we hear/read about their public comments in this case? LOL.
I know a Punjabi sister who became a Muslim at 17, and it was in the early 1990s. It was a national issue,with police reports and nationwide hunt.Alhamdulillah, she was saved by wearing a purdah and hiding in Kelantan, before happily marrying a young ustaz and following him for his studies in Egypt.Today, she's a happy mother with a growing Muslim family, alhamdulillah.
brother parent dont want there daugher too become muslim i dont know why also
ReplyDeletealiya :
ReplyDeleteWslm Aliya... Yes sis Aliya are totally right in this. As underaged muallaf usually they don't accept by both muslim and non muslim. Al-Islam March Edition also stated Tun Mahathir is disappointed with failure of Perkim in managing social issues. It's a very rare article that Tun. Mahathir is express how he really feel as a chairman of Perkim.
Anonymous :
ReplyDeleteWell bro any problem we may discuss in FB
Sticky situation, made worse when some Muslims instead of abiding by the revealed Divine's Law is conflicting it with man-made law as supreme law of the land. (I am not pin-pointing but merely stating an observation)
ReplyDeleteQuestions to ask ourselv...es are:
1. What is then the applicable law to govern and protect the rights of a potential convert to Islam who is still under the care of his/her parents/guardians? What has the Shariah has to say about such scenario?
2. Doesn’t the potential convert have the freedom/ rights under man-made law to freely change his/her religious inclination? If so, is he/she protected by law or is he/she liable to loose some of that protection after conversion? Is his/her status as an individual affected by such events?
Living in Muslim majority country, it is most unfortunate that we do not even have an SOP (standard operating procedure) for converts???
The problem I see is that there are folks who seem to treat being Muslim as an event. Well, it is not. Like with many other things in life, becoming Muslim is a process. Becoming Muslim is a life long journey. We should not just think of how and where and when to say shahadah. More importantly, we should really be thinking what is next after shahadah.
Convert centres should offer appropriate advice by first and foremost taking into consideration the welfare of the potential convert after his/her shahadah, especially so for someone who is a minor or under the care of parents/guardians. Convert centre must not operate like a shop open for daily business…come in and we can help you to convert. And when you are done, goodbye.
Among many things, convert centre should offer the following pre-conversion knowledge:
• Classes to learn all necessary basics like the tenets, articles of faith and how to perform prayers
• Counseling sessions to address issues like how best to make transition from non-Muslim to Muslim way of life.
• Issues like relationship with family and friends should be explained to the potential convert.
The whole point of the above exercise is actually to help the candidate to really think things through before making such an important life changing decision which he/she may or may not regret later. There may be areas which he/she may have overlooked and may lead to complications later. We must always bear in mind, when dealing with underage candidates is that we cannot blame them for not having sufficient maturity over such matters. As adults we are obliged to help them do some thinking and present the hard facts of life to them. Most importantly, we must remind ourselves that the intention is to show compassion and mercy and should not result in causing hardship or suffering to others.
ReplyDeleteOnly after addressing all the relevant issues, then we can ask the question, is immediate conversion the only option available? What are possibilities of differing shahadah to a future date? None of us have answers to such questions. As Muslims, what we could do is to make supplication for the candidate and ask Allah to guide him/her to make the right choice, whatever that may be. The least we could do is to exercise due diligence, do our best to help and leave the outcome to Allah. Perhaps we could even go a step further and suggest to the candidate that he/she pray sincerely to Allah in his/her heart and ask for guidance.
We must remember that Islam is not a faith of oneself, whereby the believer could practice Islam in isolation. Islam is an all-encompassing way of life whereby the believer has obligations towards his/her surrounding society. The believer should not infringe the rights others have upon him/her especially so among immediate family members and in situations where her welfare is being taken care off by parents/guardians.
I believe, if the potential convert has already faith in his/her heart, inshaAllah he/she will be guided. It may not materialize immediately. We as humans have a weakness of rushing into things without having to undergo a thorough thought process. Most often we are used to operating within our comfort zones. But at times when we have drifted out of our comfort zone, we tend to go into a panic mode and look for an immediate means of escape. Well, life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes, we need to take several deep breaths and exercise calmness and patience for it may take sometime before we can manage to get ourselves back to our norm. And there are some great lessons to be derived from being patient if we truly look within ourselves.
Same thing when it comes to embracing Islam would you not think so? We want to make sure we embrace Islam and stay in Islam until we depart. What is the point of saying the shahadah today and tomorrow renouncing the faith due to society pressure? Seem pointless to say the least, not much different with the high rate of divorce among contemporary secular societies of the world?
This issue is always a heated discussion. Personally, I partially agree with the idea of being a Muslim secretly until he/she turns 18 to avoid unnecessary conflicts. Until the time comes, it is wise to learn and explore more about Islam from basic for a solid foundation later. And of course, this needs a lot of support from fellow Muslims (friends, teachers).
ReplyDeleteTalking from experience, when I was small my grandma used to give shelter to this one Chinese brother who ran away from home (he was from Perak) to revert to Islam. I think he was around 15 that time. He stayed at the musalla with another student. Everybody was very fond of him because he was really keen in learning Islam and took any opportunity to improve himself. And few years later he moved elsewhere to work or something. My grandma passed away like 10 years ago, and we have never heard from him again. I just hope he is still in good faith and happy with his family now. May Allah bless you always wherever u r..
Fatimah :
ReplyDeleteThat's a very special case.. There are a lot of cases muallaf run away from house just for embrace Islam, but your Chinese brother story is really heart warming.
Personally I am very impressed with their strength in searching the light of Islam at young age, also recalled a lot of history about sahabat. Sometime we just read through the history but never think about that history is keep repeating everyday.
May Allah bless you too.
I don't understand why it is so hard for most Malaysian Chinese (non-muslim) to accept Islam? While it is easy for them to accept if their children convert to Christian.
ReplyDeleteBecause in Malaysia, pendakwah is still very limited in BM language. And a lot of sensitive case like cultural conflict still unsolved, although Islam is international religion.
ReplyDeleteBasically, Christian is not strict in isu Hukum. There's no halal or haram, only belief and faith.
Assalamualaikum wb..syukur pada allah yang memberi hidayah pada saudara..semoga Allah memberi hidayah pada umat islam khusus org melayu....islam bukan hak org melayu
ReplyDeleteMemang betul bangsa cina .pada pandangan dan pemerhatian saya kebanyakan x faham islam tapi x salahkan mereka sebabnya kesalahan letak pada orang islam ( org melayu ) sendiri..
ReplyDeleteWhen hidayah comes, grab it & hold it tight. Regardless what authority on this earth, parents, relatives,etc. do, keep Islam & Iman deep inside yr heart syg!They can change the outer part but not yr heart, as it belongs to the only ONE. I wish you are my daughter & insyaAllah, I will do my best for yr Hereafter.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous :
ReplyDeleteIt's not easy to hold firm with His hidayah... May Allah SWT bless and protect those who fight for His will.
Salam Ikhwan.
ReplyDeleteSaya berbangga mengikut blog anda. Anda seorang Muslim yang baik dan meneruskan dakwah Islam yang tidak mampu dilakukan oleh orang Islam sendiri.
Saya bersetuju dengan anda yang mengatakan budaya masyarakat Islam di sini agak pasif. Memang saya kurang senang dengan suasana orang Islam di negara ini. Mereka lebih suka menyampaikan dakwah secara terbuka hanya kepada orang Islam sahaja. Saya tidak faham kenapa perkara ini berterusan begini, padahal Islam itu bukanlah untuk orang Melayu sahaja.
Orang-orang seperti andalah yang mampu menyampaikan dakwah Islam ini. Teruskan dakwah dan teruskan perjuangan sebagai seorang Muslim. InsyaAllah, saya sentiasa mendoakan anda dan saudara baru Islam kita.
Ingatlah, Masuk Islam bukan bermakna masuk Melayu.
Ikhlas dari,
Syahrol
Walaikumsalam Syahrol.
DeletePada saya, seharusnya mesej Islam disampaikan tanpa diskriminasi.. Sebab Islam menyeru muslim supaya berdakwah kepada sesiapa sahaja, bukan kerana mencari keuntungan dunia yang singkat dan sedikit, tetapi sebagai kewajipan semua orang.
Kadang kala juga disebabkan oleh budaya dan adat yang menjadikan non muslim keliru, bukannya saya mengatakan adat itu tidak penting, sebaliknya setiap kaum patut mengekalkan adatnya selagi tidak bercanggah dengan Akidah dan Syariat.
Semoga Islam boleh disebarkan lebih luas dengan izin Allah SWT, insyaAllah.
What Adam testing?
ReplyDeleteAssalamualaikum wrt, pada saya banyak salah tanggapan mengrnai islam dari kacamata non muslim chinese, banyak kekeliruan berkenaan fakta dan susah untuk difahami, tambahan pula kekurangan atau ketiadaan pendakwah yang benar2 dapat menyampaikan dakwah islam dgn berkesan. Saya lebih tertarik dengan pendakwah islam di barat, yang rata2nya mereka adalah revert muslim srpti Syeikh Khalid Yassin, Siraj Wahhaj.
ReplyDeletewalaikumsalam.
DeleteDi Malaysia masih berkurangan pendakwah yang menyebarkan Islam dalam bahasa Cina, tambahan pula ada banyak kritikan daripada non-muslim. Ia melibatkan keimanan dan ilmu yang ada pada pendakwah. Sekiranya pendakwah kurang sabar, pasti tak tahan dengan kritikan yang cukup hebat.
Maka saya pun banyak belajar daripada pendakwah islam di barat, kerana semangat mereka jauh lebih tinggi walaupun penduduk majoriti bukan muslim.
Asalamualaikum,
ReplyDeleteI love this block and I obtain new knowledge from here...so I will follow this block. Thank you.
Walaikumsalam, thank you for following my blog...
Delete