TCN News
Some of the Indian Muslim clerics, mostly from AIMPLB, have unequivocally asserted that Shariat is divine and hence no government or court has right to make any changes in it. “When Prophet Muhammad had no such right, how Muslims can give that right to any government or court,” they asked while speaking at the concluding program of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s nationwide Muslim Personal Law Awareness Campaign, held at Aiwan-e Ghalib, New Delhi on Sunday.
Fazlurrehman Mujaddidi, Secretary at All India Muslim Personal Law Board, termed the recent hue and cry over Talaq and polygamy as part of a global conspiracy to target social and family system of Islam.
“We have lost our political system and also an economic system, and now there is a global conspiracy to target our social and family system. Islamic civilization and social system are being targeted as they are a big impediment in the way of Western civilization,” said Maulana Mujaddidi at the program that was presided over by JIH chief Syed Jalaluddin Umari.
The clerics categorically asserted that Muslim disputes over family matters are reaching courts because of ignorance or deliberate misuse of Shariat provisions, and so Shariat cannot be held responsible for it. Instead, there is strong need to educate the Muslim masses about Shariat, to impress upon them to follow it honestly and to open counseling centers and Shariat panchayats to resolve any disputes over family matters like marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
“When Muslims were in power, they never interfered in customs, traditions and personal laws of other communities and that is why the British regime respected Islamic Shariat and in 1937 the Shariat Application Act was passed to ensure that courts decide according to Islamic Shariat in family matters like marriage, divorce, and inheritance if both parties are Muslim,” said Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, Secretary at All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
He urged Muslims to have full faith and belief in Shariat, acquire its knowledge and practice it fully and honestly. While applauding the initiative of JIH to run nationwide Muslim Personal Law Awareness Campaign, he referred to a system in Malaysia and urged Jamaat to hold workshops for newly-wed couples and the aspirants and also set up counseling centers in order to minimize cases of Talaq.
Ateeque Ahmed Bastawi, Convener, Darul Qaza committee, All India Muslim Personal Law Board said: “No government or court will be able to make any change in our Shariat if we Muslims remain firm on it. When we ignore Shariah, courts, and governments get an opportunity to interfere in it.”
Islamic scholar Zafarul Islam Khan said Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one of 23 items mentioned in the Directive Principles of the Indian Constitution but only UCC is singled out by people with vested interests. “Some people demand Uniform Civil Code saying it is mentioned in the Directive Principles of the Constitution, but they forget that the same Directive Principles talk about 22 other issues also like Social Justice, Education, Prohibition, Drugs, and Concentration of Wealth. But nobody is talking about them,” said Khan.
In his presidential speech, national president of JIH Syed Jalaluddin Umari said, “A government, a community or a party or an individual can do injustice but this cannot be said about almighty Allah that He would take the side of any. So there cannot be injustice with any gender or group or individual in any law framed by Allah.”
Muslim leaders applauded the nationwide campaign of JIH and urged other organizations to come out to hold such programs. They stressed that such campaigns, workshops and counseling sessions should be held regularly round the year and in all Muslim localities in the country.