Zarena, Jais deny raid on Hindu wedding

All looks well after a meeting was held between Zarena Abdul Majid and Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) Tuesday over the controversy that  officers from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had barged into her Hindu wedding on June 1.

The meeting was chaired by Mais chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa and Zarena was present with her family members. Present were Jais deputy director and several officers.

They issued a joint statement later saying that Jais had conducted its investigations in a proper manner "without hurting the feelings of the family and guests who attended for the wedding."

In the June 1 incident, Jais officers were reported to have disrupted Zarena's wedding ceremony to question the bride over her religious status.

Zarena claimed that her estranged Muslim convert father had registered her as a Muslim when she was still a child but she had been brought up as a Hindu by her mother.

The statement said Zarena regretted the actions of the media in using the term "raid" which led to public unease.

"According to Jais, Zarena and her family cooperated in the investigations,” the statement said.

The statement said Mais urged Zarena to file an application with the Syariah court over her religious identification as it came under the jurisdiction of the court.

“Mais and Jais will help speed up the hearing process for her case in the Syariah court,” it said.