GEORGE TOWN: Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor has urged everyone to accept and respect the decision made by the court on the unilaterally conversion of Loh Siew Hong's three children to Islam by her former husband.
The Court of Appeal today declared the unilaterally conversion of Loh Siew Hong's three children to Islam by her former husband as invalid.
Wan Salim said, according to Islamic law, no one is allowed to force someone to follow this religion (Islam).
"Everyone needs to know that this is an issue of belief, based on the freedom to choose whatever religion one wants to follow.
"(Madam) Loh (Siew Hong)'s children have now reached the stage of maturity that allows them to make a choice about which religion they want to follow. Only they should be given full freedom to make that choice," he said today.
Wan Salim's response came in the wake of the Court of Appeal's decision to declare the unilateral conversion of Loh's three children to Islam by her former husband as invalid.
This ruling follows Loh's successful appeal challenging the conversion that occurred in Perlis five years ago.
Loh sought to contest the lower court's decision, which previously stated that there was no evidence indicating that the three children had ceased practicing Islam while under her care.
Elaborating, Wan Salim said the offer by the Perlis Islamic Religious Council to provide financial assistance to Loh's children and provide Islamic education for them is indeed a noble one.
However, he said it was up to Loh and her children to decide whether they wanted to accept the offer or reject it.
"As an Islamic religious authority, of course the Perlis Islamic Religious Council wants to carry out its responsibility to preserve the beliefs and welfare of the children in question if they still want to become Muslims.
"But if they themselves choose another religion, then they cannot be forced to accept the offer.
"Hopefully all parties will be able to appreciate the spirit of religious tolerance which has been part of the culture of Malaysian society, which is very helpful towards maintaining the stability of the lives of various races in this country," he added.