For Whom the Bells Toll

A death in any family is a time of great sadness, stress and anxiety. The family is subject to emotional trauma with the loss of a dear one.

However when the family is further subjected to disputes over the burial arrangements, it seems that society has become a hindrance rather than a help to the grieving relatives.

The case of the former Everest hero was brought to the High Court that decided that it had no jurisdiction as the deceased had converted to Islam, an event that the widow vehemently denies.

It was reported that the deceased had appeared on the latest Deepavali TV3 program but that by itself may not prove that he was a Hindu.

What of his conversion to Islam? Is there any documentary proof that he had indeed converted? What is this document to prove conversion?
Recent events at the NRD had citizens having to produce Baptism certificates to claim religious affiliations.

But we all know that such claims are dubious at best. A person who was baptised 40 years ago may not even been a practising Christian.

Someone mentioned that since under Syariah laws, the estate is distributed according to the dictates of Islam, a case like this may cast doubts that such a doubtful conversion may cause the Hindu(or first) wife to lose out; especially if the deceased had married a Muslim after conversion.

For me, religion should be a personal matter and the less the state gets involved the better for everyone as costs of enforcement can be substantial.

An equitable solution would require the Syariah and High Courts to work together on this thorny and sensitive subject would be to compromise on the estate so that families will not suffer needlessly.

I would propose that the estate be divided into two portions:
For example if the man died at age 60 and converted only in the final two years of this life and assuming that his estate was created only after the age of 25, there would be 35 years of wealth creation.

35 years wealth creation
2 years conversion
33 years previous religion

The estate is divided in proportion to the years of conversion and the Syariah authorities would have jurisdiction over 2/35 of the estate.

This would remove much of the trauma of discovered conversions and the aggrieved family will know that the years of sacrifice have not been in vain.

As for whom the bells toll, it tolls for you and me as one more nail is hammered in the coffin of religious freedom and tolerance.

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