Religious Conversion of Minor Children: An Analysis of the Current Legal Provision in Malaysia

摘要

Malaysia has a dualist legal system whereby Syariah law and Syariah Courts govern the Muslims whereas the non-Muslims are administered by the Civil law and Civil Courts respectively. The dual legal systems running parallel to each other works well provided the laws are clearly demarcated.However, when Syariah law and Civil law overlap, it gets complicated. In recent times, the religious conversion of a non-Muslim spouse to Islam and the unilateral conversion to Islam of the minor child of the marriage, without the consent of the non-convert spouse, has resulted in an acrimoniousdispute amongst Muslim and non-Muslim spouses in Malaysia. The main issue clouding this area is whether consent of one parent or both parents’ is required to effect the religious conversion to Islam of the minor child. Unclear legal provisions and conflicting court decisions have alladded to an unsatisfactory state of the law, making the whole legal process complex and problematic without a definitive solution. This article seeks to evaluate the current laws and notable court decisions to gauge the extent of parental rights in respect of a child’s religion and howthe best interest of the child can be protected in resolving the current controversy harmoniously.