Alienation and stigma for Muslims born out of wedlock

PETALING JAYA: Muslims who were born out of wedlock have spoken up on the problems they face due to a religious edict forbidding them from carrying their father’s name.

Faisal Abdullah, 24, told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) that his mother had been disowned for not wanting to marry his biological father.

He said growing up, he was constantly reminded that he would not be allowed to carry the family name or inherit property.

“My cousins laughed at me. Other children at school knew the ‘Abdullah’ in my name meant I was born out of wedlock and they called me names and teased me frequently,” he was quoted as saying.

Child rights activist Hartini Zainudin meanwhile told the daily she had received a letter from a 23-year-old woman whose application for citizenship had been rejected as she was born out of wedlock to an Indonesian mother and a Malaysian father.

Because of this, Hartini said, the woman was not recognised as a Malaysian and was now contemplating suicide.

“The girl who wrote to me is constantly terrified of getting picked up in a police raid as she has no documents – the authorities have even asked her to go to the Indonesian embassy and request a passport from them, but she is Malaysian,” she said in the report.

In July, the Court of Appeal said the National Registration Department (NRD) had acted outside its powers when it used the surname “Abdullah” to register a Muslim baby born within six months of the parents’ marriage, despite the mother’s wish to use her husband’s name.

The written judgment also questioned the practice of adding the surname “bin Abdullah” to such children.

Justice Abdul Rahman Sebli said the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1957 (BDRA) makes no distinction between a Muslim child and a non-Muslim child.

On Aug 21, however, the Federal Court granted a stay on the Court of Appeal order pending a bid by the Johor Islamic Religious Council to intervene in the NRD’s appeal against the lower court’s decision in favour of the couple, who are from Johor.

Speaking to FMT, lawyer Nizam Bashir said no reason was given by the judges.

“Initially the family objected, but essentially the court allowed it without hearing the objection,” said Nizam, who is representing the Johor couple and their son.

In the SCMP report, Nizam said such children should not be punished for whatever their parents may have done.

“At the end of the day, children are innocent.”

Hartini agreed, saying the authorities were approaching the issue from a religious point of view when religion should protect everybody, especially the innocent.

“What’s the harm in allowing a child to carry their biological father’s name?” she said.

Aside from the stigma endured by such children, Hartini said they also faced more concrete problems such as lack of access to public schools and subsidised health care.

They are also unable to access public health services, open a bank account or buy property.

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