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JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor Islamic Religious Department (JAINJ) is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to investigate the religious status of Illi Najwa Saddique, a Malaysian woman who married an Indian hockey captain in Punjab.
Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Tosrin Jarvanthi said the department was gathering information on the wedding.
He said the results of the investigation will be presented to the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
“I ask all Muslims to be patient and avoid misinterpreting this issue. Let JAINJ investigate, ”he said today at a press conference.
Tosrin added that JAINJ had not summoned anyone, including members of Illi Najwa’s family, for questioning, as the department was still concentrating on collecting evidence.
When asked if the young woman was legally married in Johor, Tosrin declined to comment further, emphasizing that the investigations are still ongoing.
Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh Pawar took Illi Najwa, whom he had known for several years, as his wife during a ceremony in Mithapur, near Jalandhar, Punjab, last Wednesday.
Manpreet, 28, wore a Punjabi wedding dress complete with a turban, while Illi Najwa, 28, wore a Punjabi wedding dress. The ceremony raised questions among netizens about the religious status of the woman.
NST had reported that the woman managed to obtain special permission from the Malaysian authorities and the Indian Ministry of the Interior for the wedding.
Earlier today, Sultan Ibrahim weighed in on the controversy and advised the public to avoid jumping to conclusions on the subject, as Illi Najwa had not yet declared that he wanted to leave Islam.
