Question
Since I converted to Judiasm from Islam, I often wonder (since my father has been ill) that in the event of their passing, how do I pray for them (as they are Muslim) when I would normally recite Kaddish for a Jew?
Answer
Thank you for your question. One of today’s greatest authorities on Jewish law, Rabbi Ovadya Yosef Shlit”a (Yichaveh Daas Vol.6 Siman 60) discusses this issue in his written Responsa, and states that there is nothing wrong with a convert saying Kaddish for a non-Jewish parent, as long as that person was a moral and upstanding person that one would admire and respect.
Take care,
Rabbi Aaron Tendler