Don't Rock The Boat, Guys

by kilamxx


Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Othman, the religious adviser to the Prime Minister, made quite a revealing statement last week. Commenting on the Perlis mufti council’s fatwa that converts were no longer required to change their names, Tan Sri Hamid said, by having their names changed, converts could assimilate themselves easily into Muslim society in general. As reported in the New Straits Times (1 May 2007), Tan Sri Hamid said :- "Some of the names before conversion were not suitable for Muslims. Can we maintain such names in Islam? "The present practice where converts are required to change their names should continue as this has long been established. "Do not simply say this (practice) is wrong, sinful in Islam and so on. It has been there for so many years and has also been successful in enhancing solidarity between converts and other Muslims all these years."

In reply to this the New Straits Times (7 May 2007) published the following letter sent in by a reader.

Nothing in the Quran, Hadith that compels name change

Rosey Wang Ma, Kuala Lumpur.

IT is beyond my comprehension that the religious adviser to the prime minister, Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Othman, can try to make blanket decisions for the country’s Muslims based on practices which have "long been established" (by whom, I wonder) rather than what is given to us in the holy Quran and Hadith.

To my knowledge, I do not recall anything in the Quran about names Muslims should have. I do remember though that the Prophet Muhammad advised: "Bestow on your children names with good meanings." And this is what Chinese parents, and almost all parents do.

Chinese names have a meaning because each word or character has a meaning. Chinese believe names will reflect the character and life pattern of the person.

Try as I may, I cannot think of any name that has a bad meaning and could therefore be deemed non-suitable for Muslims. (I must plead ignorance about names of non-Chinese origin).


As for Hamid’s claim that by changing their names, converts can assimilate themselves easily into Muslim society in general, I beg to differ, based on my 15 years of research and counselling work with converts (Chinese) in Malaysia.

I can’t see why any Muslim would accept better a Hussein bin Abdullah who may not practise an Islamic way of life than a Tay Guo Rong (without a name change) who lives a life according to the straight path.

Also, why the need to assimilate? We take pride in our multiculturalism; becoming Muslim is accepting a universal faith. Should it be viewed as "assimilating" into the Malay society?

Let’s remember that the new Muslim still has a family he was born into, parents who brought him up and an entire life environment before he accepted the Muslim faith. Islam places great emphasis on parents and family.

For countless many, the name change has been a serious issue, for the person himself and for the family, sometimes leading to consequences as dire as breaking family ties.

For those who wish to take on a Muslim name when they convert, it is their choice and to them will belong their reward; but for those who do not, let us remember that this is not a religious requirement.

Kudos to Rosey for spelling it out for those who are supposed to be more knowledgable on the subject.