KUALA LUMPUR – Controversial preacher Firdaus Wong has maintained that he has not religiously converted any individuals below the age of 18, nor has he encouraged minors to hide their conversion to Islam from their parents.
In his affidavit filed at the Kuala Lumpur High Court on October 23, Wong said he has preached religion in Malaysia since 2011 and converted 137 individuals to Islam, and all of them were the age of majority.
“Throughout my time preaching, I have never converted minors below the age of 18 without the knowledge of their parents,” Wong said in court documents.
Wong also admitted that a “speaker” at an event received questions from non-Muslim high school children who would like to embrace Islam and forwarded the question to the preacher.
“I answered based on Islamic principles, that there are no problems regarding age if someone wants to embrace Islam.
“However, from a legal standpoint, they must be 18 years of age.
“I recommend that if there are those that want to be Muslim, ‘syahadahkan’ (get them to recite the shahada), don’t take photos or videos, and there is no need to register.
“I emphasise here that I have never at any material times advised to refrain from informing parents and/or (do so) without the consent of non-Muslim parents,” Wong said in his affidavit.
Additionally, the preacher also agreed that in the video, he mentioned that he was asked by students how to perform prayers and said he would advise students to do so according to their abilities.
“I will give an example. If they have a room to themselves, and if they can’t perform Zohor and Asar prayers following their timing, we advise them to ‘jamak’ (combine prayers).
“…these things we usually handle. (If they say) ‘I have sisters or brothers in my room. How can I pray?’. If possible, pray before going home in the evening,” an excerpt from Firdaus’ affidavit said.
Despite these admissions by Wong, he continued to state that he has never encouraged hiding conversions from the parents of non-Muslim children.
Additionally, Wong mentioned that he has not violated the Federal Constitution.
His statements come after the high court, on October 3, ordered Wong to temporarily take down a TikTok video said to provide advice to minors on how to embrace Islam without their parents’ knowledge or consent.
The interim ruling by judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh was made after several non-Muslim parents applied for an ex-parte injunction on the matter to maintain a status quo during ongoing legal proceedings.
The case was filed by the parents on July 18, who are seeking to prevent Firdaus from advising underaged non-Muslim children on converting to Islam.
They also sought the removal of the controversial TikTok video. – October 29, 2024