Shariah court to determine lineage of kids rescued from Global Ikhwan-linked homes, as registration hindered by lack of valid marriage documents, says minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 — The determination of the lineage (nasab) of some children rescued from charity homes linked to Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISBH) through Ops Global on September 11 falls under the jurisdiction of the state shariah court, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.

He said the main issue regarding the nasab was that the National Registration Department (JPN) could not register the children without documents proving they were born from a valid marriage.

“The Syariah Court judge will first review oral testimonies and documentation before deciding if the marriage complies with Islamic law.

“Once this process is completed, and the marriage is verified, the State Islamic Religious Department will issue a marriage certificate for the parents of the children, allowing JPN to issue their legitimate birth certificates,” he said.

He made these remarks when met by reporters after attending the thanksgiving ceremony for the completion of this year’s Haj operation here, yesterday.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain on Tuesday confirmed that 392 children residing in charity homes linked to GISBH were rescued from 20 such homes during the recent Op Global.

In a media briefing on Op Global’s developments, Razarudin said investigations revealed that some of these children were “bin” Abdullah, and the parents were unaware of the children’s status as some GISBH members’ marriages were suspected to have not been registered initially.

Commenting on the role of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) in handling cases related to GISBH, Mohd Na’im said the agency would be part of a special committee to be established as announced by Razarudin earlier.

Regarding yesterday’s event, Mohd Na’im said it was held as an appreciation from Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) to all parties involved in the successful implementation of the Haj operations in both Malaysia and the Holy Land for the 1445H/2024 season.

He added that the event also recognised the contribution of 31 corporate companies under the Sahabat Korporat TH programme, which provided a total of RM4.8 million in donations. — Bernama