‘My case is different’
My custody battle is not the same as Indira Gandhi’s, says Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah.
SEPANG: Muslim convert Izwan Abdullah who was embroiled in a custody battle with his Hindu ex-wife S. Deepa, and which led to the Federal Court granting each parent one child last February, said he would not allow both his children to become apostates.
Thirty-five-year-old Izwan, who converted both his children to Islam without his wife’s knowledge in 2013, said Nurul Nabila, now 12, and Nabil, 10, should be allowed to decide on their faith when they turn 18.
“My case is different from the Indira Gandhi case,” Izwan said, referring to the landmark decision on Monday where the Federal Court here granted an appeal by kinder- garten teacher M. Indira Gandhi, who challenged the conversion of her children to Islam by her ex-husband Muhammad Riduan Abdullah.
Five senior judges unanimously nullified the conversion of Indira’s three children, Tevi Darsiny, 20; Karan Dinish, 19; and Prasana Diksa, nine.
Izwan, who was approached at a mosque in Sungai Pelek, added: “Deepa and I have since remarried (to other spouses) and we remain good friends.”
“We have our own families and I hope people will not associate us with the Indira case,” he said.
Izwan said Nabil has been practising Islam for five years and is close to completing his Quran recitation.
“Deepa is also good friends with my wife, whom I married in 2014, and they also WhatsApp and talk regularly with one another.
“To make my son a murtad (apostate) would be totally unacceptable,” he said, adding that both Deepa and he were visiting their children as per the court order.
However, Izwan said he last met Nurul Nabila in August as she had moved from Jelebu in Negri Sembilan and now lived with Deepa in Johor Baru.
Izwan and his current wife Sasibegam Abdullah, 32, have a twoyear-old-daughter, and are expecting their second child, due in April.
After unilaterally converting Nurul Nabila and Nabil, Izwan got custody of both the children, previously known as Sharmila and Mithran respectively, from the Seremban Syariah Court.
However, the civil High Court later gave custody of both children to Deepa. Despite this, Izwan took Nabil away on April 9, 2014.
On Dec 17, 2014, the Court of Appeal upheld the Seremban High Court’s decision to give custody to Deepa, despite a conflicting order by the Seremban Syariah Court.
Izwan said he is close with Nabila though she lived with Deepa.
“Deepa and I will always remain Nabil’s and Nurul Nabila’s parents. We love our children very much.
“I do not want my children to go through another court process,” he said.
When contacted, one of Deepa’s former counsels R. Jayamalar said Deepa did not wish to speak to the press at the moment.
“She (Deepa) is not considering anything now,” she texted when asked if Deepa was planning to contest her children’s conversions.
When contacted, Deepa’s 54-yearold mother Siti Aishah Abdullah was happy with the court decision but said Deepa would have to decide if she wished to pursue a case.