Yoursay: The fault line is stark in Indira Gandhi case

‘What guarantee Prasana will be a practising Muslim under Indira?’

Vijay47: You are absolutely right, PUM president Abdul Halim Abd Kadir, there is no guarantee at all (that M Indira Gandhi ensures her youngest child Prasana Diksa adheres to Islamic practices if she regains custody of the child). Why should there be?

That assurance from Indira merely reflects what a desperate yet noble person she is, something that cannot be said about her renegade husband.

All you Muslim bodies seem unwilling to understand that Indira’s children, all three of them and including the youngest who was abducted from Indira when the child was an infant, are Hindus, the question of their being converted to Islam does not at all arise since any purported conversion would be illegal.

This may not please you too much but there is nothing you or I can do about it. You seem unable to realise that Indira is a mother, a mother from whom her baby was stolen by that renegade husband, who lost nine years with her child, and she simply wants her child back to hold, kiss and to cuddle.

Yes, you may not understand such maternal sentiments; had you been the one lost as a child, your mother may not experience similar sorrow and pain.

Hearty Malaysian: Indira, you don’t have to promise your daughter shall remain Muslim as you are granted by the court of law to take custody of your child who was unilaterally, and now proven illegally, converted to Islam without your consent as the child’s mother.

The nation owed you an apology for taking too long to address your grievances and pain as a mother who missed her child for nine long years.

You don’t have to be apologetic to those who demand your child should not follow your faith. All faiths are equal in the eyes of God, and our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

Quigonbond: Persatuan Ulama Malaysia (PUM) misses the point. The father may be a Muslim in name but he is also a kidnapper. What Indira is saying is she does not mind if her child wants to be a Muslim.

But now that that decision has been reset, the child can make up her own mind, in her own time, and without compulsion, as to what religious faith she would follow.

Between a cowardly husband who used religion to “win” custody of a child, and a mother who fought for almost 10 years against the system to see her again, I think it will soon dawn upon the child who sacrificed more for her.

In supporting the action of such husbands, people like PUM discredit their religion. But honestly, I think everyone is getting ahead of themselves. Has the husband been found? Has the child been found?

The responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) if they fail to find them, this exacerbated the tragedy of the police by refusing to arrest the husband in the first place while he could still be located.

The Federal Court must be prepared to hold the inspector-general of police (IGP) in contempt if the husband cannot be found within reasonable time.

Anonymous #44199885: Indeed, the Federal Court has clearly ruled that the conversion is null and void. Therefore, there is no question about bringing the child up as a Muslim. You cannot condone a spouse who covertly converts the child by kidnapping the child.

These ulamas and other Islamic NGOs advance the position that it is okay for a converting spouse to kidnap the child, covertly convert the child and wilfully disobey a court order. Will they agree to the same proposition if the non-Muslim spouse were to do the same thing?

Anonymous_2679c6e5: Indira does not need to bargain with the authorities whose job is to locate the daughter who was illegally converted nor with the religious bigots who have no right to interfere in the lives of private individuals.

Don’t surrender your hard-won rights over your daughter. You do not need to negotiate with people like PUM. There is no need even to suggest allowing Prasana to remain a Muslim because that conversion was illegal. Let her decide for herself when she turns majority age.

David Dass: Yes, PUM has no say in the matter. The Federal Court has ruled the conversion illegal and a nullity. The child is not a Muslim. The law is clear. The police should act accordingly.

We are a nation ruled by law. Our courts tell us in the event of disputes as to what the law is. The High Court has ruled on the matter several times. But the issue comes up again and again.

Part of the problem has been caused by police inaction in the past. In the absence of clarity, these matters give rise to pain, anxiety, stress and tension. No agony can be greater than that of a mother who has her child unlawfully torn from her embrace.

Multi Racial: Everyone should be happy the mother can finally be united with her daughter again. It is for the better for both mother and daughter.

Assuming it was the other way around, where the ex-father is a Hindu and the mother is a Muslim and he forcefully convert her to Hindu after kidnapping the daughter from the Muslim mother, is PUM going to react the same way?

I believe for the majority of us, we will react the same regardless – the ex-husband, whatever his religion, who has committed a crime should to go jail and the daughter and mother should be reunited.

This has nothing to do with religion. It is just the right thing to do. I guess this is something too complicated for PUM to understand.

Anonymous#26191220: PUM’s underlying premise is that once you are a Muslim, you are always a Muslim. And that Islam and Islamic jurisprudence is the supreme law of the land regardless of whatever the Federal Constitution and however the Federal Court interprets the laws of the land.

That underlying mindset explains why they are many Muslims who feel aggrieved and wronged with this judgment. This is the fault line and fissure within Malaysia.

We have had generations of Malaysians growing up thinking that our secular constitution, our civil laws and courts and indeed our multiracial values must be subservient to Islam – that’s what Malaysia has become.

Anonymous: The day people realise that we were created by the same God and we stop saying one’s religion is more superior than the other, we will be become more understanding of what God really expects from us. That is, cultivation of love and understanding for a fellow human being.

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