The ruling on obeying one's mother in abandoning the pursuit of Islamic knowledge

Question:
May Allah guide you, O Shaykh. This questioner is from the Netherlands. He says that he has embraced Islam and wants to pursue Islamic knowledge. He was accepted into the Islamic University, but his mother does not want him to do so. Is he obligated to obey her and abandon the pursuit of Islamic knowledge, even though his mother is not a Muslim?

Answer:
No, it is not permissible for him to do that. He should pursue Islamic knowledge and be dutiful to his mother. He can try to convince her; he is able to convince her in this matter. However, he must not refrain from Islamic knowledge just because his mother is preventing him. He does not obey her in this, for obedience is only in what is good.