Will religion always be our downfall ?

Hindu man gets custody of children
Kuek Ser Kuang Keng
May 3, 07 12:18pm

Rubber tapper P Marimuthu, who is seeking the release of his Muslim wife and children from the Islamic religious authorities, won custody of his seven children today.

The Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) this morning agreed to grant the custody of the children to Marimuthu to be raised as Hindus. They will be handed over to Marimuthu later today.

However his Muslim wife Raimah Bibi Noordin would still be in the custody of the religious department. She will be granted access to her children but would not be allowed to live with her Hindu husband.

The agreement between Marimuthu and the religious department was made at the Shah Alam High Court.

Earlier Marimuthu, 44, withdrew his application in court for the release of his wife and six children who were taken away by Islamic religious officials last month. Another child was with an uncle at that time.

His lawyer Karpal Singh informed justice Su Geok Yiam that the habeas corpus application had been overtaken by events as a settlement has been reached following an affidavit by Raimah that she remained a Muslim.

In her affidavit, Raimah agreed that the children be returned to the father to be brought up as Hindus. She was in court and confirmed the arrangement with the judge.

Marimuthu had in his affidavit that he and his wife Raimah are Hindus, and their children have been brought up as Hindus.

The family's problem started when seven Jais officers visited their house in Kampung Baru Tambahan Ulu Yam on April 2.

The officials then told Marimuthu that his wife of 21 years, Raimah Bibi, was a Muslim and that she and their children - aged between four and 12 - must be placed in a rehabilitation centre.

Hindu marriage

Marimuthu had previously said that an ustaz (religious scholar) had told him to covert to Islam or threatened to charge him for khalwat (close proximity) with Raimah, 40.

Raimah, who returned to help him with rubber tapping two days later, told him that Jais had placed the family in the nearby Kampung Melayu Liga Emas.

Marimuthu also does not know if his wife was a practising Muslim before they got married. Since then however, he said, the two of them have been practising Hindus.

?We got married in a temple, according to Hindu rituals. All our kids were brought up as Hindus,he said.

He said Raimah, who was adopted by an Indian Muslim family, cannot remember her adopted mother and her late adopted father had approved of their relationship.

In an immediate reaction, Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the solution was not a very happy arrangement as it leaves many issues open-ended which may cause problems in the future.

It is sad and tragic that a happy couple and united family with seven children as a result of 21 years of marriage should be broken up by religious factors when family unity and love should be the paramount concern of all religions, he added.