Legal Literacy for Muslim Converts in Malaysia

Abstract

Many Muslim converts in Malaysia are not well-informed of their rights and the legal implications of conversion to Islam. Implementing legal pluralism, particularly the different sets of personal laws that apply to Muslims and non-Muslims, sends the converts, their non-Muslim families, and the religious authorities into bitter legal battles whenever an individual converts to Islam. Furthermore, as religious institutions currently offer no legal literacy program, some Muslim converts are unclear regarding the course of action they should take whenever legal issues are involved, especially from the aspects of identity change; civil marriage dissolution; matrimonial properties distribution; child custody and guardianship; determination of child’s and the deceased’s religion; and inheritance and derivative pension distribution. Therefore, this research explores Muslim converts’ perspectives on the need for and development of legal literacy regarding rights and legal implications of conversion to Islam. This study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 9 participants who were all Muslim converts. Each interview was transcribed verbatim, and the data were analysed with NVIVO software based on a thematic approach. The research found that all participants unanimously agreed to empower Muslim converts with legal literacy, considering many are not well-informed of the legal implications of conversion to Islam, despite it directly affecting their personal lives, family dynamic, and the multicultural society in Malaysia.

Maladministration in Indonesia's Interreligious Marriage

“…For this reason, it is necessary to observe how the procedure works when two people who follow different religions go through the motions. (Jari & Zulkifli, 2018), (Liow, 2020), (Naftalin-Kelman, 2019) Because this facet of marriage registration is extremely pressing in terms of the protection and guarantee of legal certainty, the state will, in the not-toodistant future, be required to regulate or promulgate conditions for Marriage to incorporate religious or belief norms into marriage law positively. Law 1 of 1974 concerning Marriage and other laws and regulations related to Marriage and population administration contain the conditions for Marriage that the state has formulated.…”

Exploring Indicators for Measuring the Performance of Islamic Affairs Institutions in Malaysia

“…In Malaysia, conversion to a new religion usually involves conversion to a faith other than Islam or from a religion other than Islam to Islam (Samuri & Khan, 2021). In Islam, the term mualaf, or new brother, usually refers to a new Muslim brother (Abd Majid et al, 2016).…”