Malaysia: court battle reaching climax
In Malaysia, the ongoing arm wrestle between the civil court system and the Islamic Court system has reached a key stage in the case of Hindu citizen Mrs Indira Gandhi.
Peter Riddell
Senior Research Fellow of the
Australian College of Theology
In 2009, Mrs Gandhi’s husband Patmanathan moved out of the family home, taking their 11-month-old daughter Prasana with him. He converted to Islam, taking the name Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, and then filed for unilateral conversion to Islam of their three children without consulting his wife. On this basis, he was given custody of the children from the Shariah Court as, according to Islamic Law, children remain with the Muslim parent if a mixed marriage ends in divorce.
