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Indian Muslim Apex Body Gets New Chief
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Maulana
Muhammad Rabey Nadwi
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By
Zafarul-Islam Khan, IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, June 23 (IslamOnlne) - Maulana Muhammad Rabey Nadwi, rector,
Nadwat-ul-Ulama, Lucknow, was on June 22 unanimously elected president
of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) at a meeting held
at Hyderabad in south India. The election was necessitated by the
death of the previous chairman, Maulana Mujahidul Islam Qasimi last
April.
According
to M.A. Raheem Quershi, convenor of the three-day 16th session of the
board, it was decided that the present executive will run its full
term. The new AIMPLB chief will hold the post for three years. More
than 300 religious scholars, theologians and intellectuals from all
over the country participated in the meeting.
Over
the years the AIMPLB has become the most important organisation of
India's 131.5 million Muslims. Originally established three decades
ago to protect the Muslim personal laws in India, Indian Muslims have
come to pin hopes on this body to solve many of their problems
although the body has failed to rise to their hopes so far.
Muslim
personal laws are the first target of extremist Hindus in their
assault on Muslims and other minorities.
Extremist
Hindu organisations have been pressing for the abrogation of
constitutional guarantees given to Muslims (and other minorities) that
in their personal and family lives they can continue to practice their
personal laws, a practice allowed by the British after the fall of the
Muslim rule in India.
The
current unanimous election of the AIMPLB was in keeping with its
tradition since it was born in 1972 when Maulana Qari Tayyib, rector
of Darul Uloom Deoband, was unanimously elected. After his demise
Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi was also chosen unanimously and stayed in
the post until his death on 31 December 1999.
After
Maulana Nadwi, Maulana Mujahidul Islam Qasimi, a distinguished
jurisprudent, too was elected unanimously in April 2000. For all his
knowledge and the respect he enjoyed, Maulana Qasimi could not offer
effective leadership due to his falling health.
The
new AIMPLB chief takes over while the Muslim community seems to be
facing its worst days since Independence. The community has yet to
recover from the Gujarat pogroms amid overt and covert threats that
"Gujarat" will be repeated all over the country to cripple
Muslims economically and to convert them into second class citizens
who would not dare demand any rights.
Muslim
attempts to come out of their ghettoes and to join the
"mainstream" have been seriously hampered by the Gujarat
events and the anti-Muslim campaign being implemented by the BJP and
its sister organisations. On top of this is the campaign against
madrasas (Muslims religious schools) and mosques, which are accused of
being terrorist dens.
This
totally unsubstantiated lie is being propagated by the state machinery
starting from the Home Ministry led by Hindutva hawk LK Advani.
Muslims have started to return to their ghettoes all over the country
as a result of these developments.
"The
challenge the community faces now has gone up several folds.
Everything seems to have gone upside down. The unimagined destruction
in Gujarat has affected the community very badly. Now the person
taking over the board should be able to tackle everything from
religion to politics" says a senior AIMPLB member.
The
Board since its inception has taken up every issue that confronts the
community. It was formed in Mumbai on 28 December 1972 with a view to
consider ways to face the onslaught on Personal Law and Shari'ah. It
also aimed to unite Muslims on Shari'ah issues and offer religious
guidance to Muslims.
All
these years the AIMPLB tried to counter overt and covert efforts to
interfere in the Shariah or through parallel legislation. On the other
hand, it tried to introduce Islamic family laws in the Muslim society.
Islamic Fiqh Academy was founded in Delhi under Qazi Mujahidul Islam
Qasimi for precisely this purpose.
In
1972, the Adoption Bill was introduced in the upper house of
Parliament (Rajya Sabha). The then law minister, Mr Gokhle, had
declared that this law wouldl apply to all citizens as a uniform civil
code. He described it as the "first step" towards uniform
civil code. This bill was strongly opposed by the AIMPLB in the
convention held at Bombay and was described as an interference in
Shari'ah laws. The Board mobilized public opinion against this bill.
Subsequently, the government re-presented this bill in Parliament in
1980 exempting Muslims from its application.
In
1986, The Supreme Court of India had ordered payment of maintenance
allowance by the previous husband to his divorced wife for life or
till her re-marriage in the Muhammad Ahmad Khan vs. Shah Bano case.
What actually infuriated Muslims was the Supreme Court's attempt to
re-interpret the Qur’an in an arbitrary manner and issue an advice
to the government to enact a common civil code. The government
position has been since Independence that no changes will be
introduced in the Muslim personal laws without the approval of the
Muslim community.
The
AIMPLB took the issue head on and started a historic movement
throughout the country. A delegation led by the Board chairman met the
then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, on 30 July 1985. During 1986 Board
members met the prime minister three times and tried to apprise and
convince him of the stand taken by Muslims. Finally, the government
passed Women’s Rights Act on 6 May 1986 that scrapped court’s
judgment and restored the Islamic law of maintenance.
Another
problem confronted the Board in the form of a new law for subjecting
Awqaf’s income to tax in April 1980. The Board took a serious notice
of this law. Syed Minnatullah Rahmani and Dr Yousuf Najmuddin met
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi along with a delegation and were
successful in convincing her that the application of this law to Awqaf
properties will not be fair.
The
AIMPLB has consistently worked for the community and taken note of
every small development. Since the demolition of the Babri Mosque in
December 1992, it has also assumed the responsibility of the issue and
has formed a committee to follow up this case in both political and
legal fields.
Today
the Indian Muslim community faces tougher times than ever before. The
responsibilities of the new chairman as well as the organisation are
even greater in the new scenario when not only Muslim rights, even
Muslim lives and properties are open to rape, arson, murder and
burning alive as seen recently in Gujarat with threats of repetition
elsewhere.
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