Chidambram speaks at Jamiat ulema-i-hind meet

[EjazR]

Just to clarify that Deoband is also name of a place and in this case does not refer to the seminary dar-ul-uloom. This was organisaed not by the Dar-ul-ullom but by the JUH organisation.

The Hindu : Front Page : Chidambaram decries violence in the name of religion

DEOBAND (SAHARANPUR): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday deplored violence in the name of religion and made a fervent appeal that more voices be raised against terrorism and all forms of violence, mainly communal strife. He said the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 was a manifestation of religious fanaticism. Communalism negated pluralism and opposed political freedom to people.

The civil society was based on a contract whose core was tolerance, sharper the differences the greater should be the tolerance level. “Spread the message of tolerance and strengthen the thread that binds the society,” Mr. Chidambaram said addressing the 30th general session of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (JUH) at Shaikhul Hind Nagar in Deoband here.

Indians shared a common cause and communalism could not be fought with mere rhetoric. The concept of tolerant civil society and political freedom had to be expanded. In the final analysis, political freedom alone could defeat communalism. The Prime Minister’s 15-point programme ensured freedom for all minorities, including Muslims.

While welcoming the “fatwa” (decree) against terrorism issued by the Darul Uloom, Deoband in February 2008, he called upon all right-minded people to condemn terror acts. The nation could not ignore its minorities and it was a self-evident rule that it was the duty of the majority to protect the minorities. It was this rule that led the Government of India to lodge a protest against the discrimination and denial of rights to the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka and the attacks on Indian students in Australia.

However, the roles were reversed in States such as Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab where the minorities constituted the majority. In Jammu and Kashmir, Muslims were bound by this rule and by the tenets of Islam to protect the minority community. Islam was not an alien faith and Muslims were the honoured citizens of the country.

Sonia’s message

A special message of greetings from UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was extended on behalf of her by Mr. Chidambaram.

Union Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot assailed the divisive forces and condemned terrorism. He said the country was united against terrorism.

 

[Evil Flare]

i just see the Comments in India times regarding FATWA ...


So Much hatred against muslims

 

[EjazR]

Gulf Times ? Qatar?s top-selling English daily newspaper - India

Muslims had contributed much to the building of modern India and the country could not view Islam as an alien faith, federal Home Minister P Chidambaram said yesterday.

Chidambaram was addressing a gathering of 100,000 people including about 10,000 Muslim clerics at the annual conference of influential Deoband seminary in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh being organised by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.

“We cannot view Islam as an alien faith. Our Muslim brethren are honoured citizens of India. This is the land of your forbears, this is the land of your birth, and this is where you will live and work,” Chidambaram said.

India has the world’s third-largest Muslim population, after Indonesia and Pakistan. However, Muslims comprise about 13.4% of its 1.2bn population, while Hindus form a majority of more than 80%.

“A nation can ignore its minorities only at its peril. The golden rule in a democracy is that it is the duty of the majority to protect the minority, be it religious, racial or linguistic,” the home minister said. “Due to the acts of a few, we have allowed diversity to become differences.”

Chidambaram called for tolerance to “strengthen the strands that bind civil society.”

“Communalism is the negation of pluralism. Communalism also opposes modernity, rejects the idea of civil society, and opposes political freedom to the people,” Chidambaram said.

The home minister reminded the gathering, which had only last year issued a fatwa (decree) against terrorism, that civil society was based on a compact and tolerance was at the core of this compact.

“The sharper the differences, the greater must be the degree of tolerance. When this compact is eroded, the foundations of civil society are shaken. It is our duty to spread the message of tolerance and strengthen the strands that bind civil society,” he said.

“In the final analysis, it is the assurance of political freedom, and all the rights associated with such freedom, that will defeat communalism.”

The home minister condemned all manifestations of communalism and said “the worst kind of communalism is unleashing communal violence. Violence and violent means to achieve any objective is the antithesis of a civilised society governed by the rule of law.

Chidambaram condemned the demolition of the mediaeval Babri mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya town in 1992, calling it “a manifestation of religious fanaticism and an act of extreme prejudice.”

The 16th-century mosque was demolished by Hindu mobs, triggering bloody communal riots nationwide which claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Hindu groups believe the mosque was located at a site where their epic hero god Rama was born, and want to construct a temple there.

He praised the clerics for their bold declaration denouncing terrorism, and said: “I regard that decree as a call to duty to not only Muslims but to all right thinking people. I would urge that more voices be raised, loudly and clearly, against terrorism and all forms of violence.”

JUH leader Maulana Mehmood Madni urged Muslim militants and Maoist rebels to lay down arms, and assured them the community would help take up their cause.

“If militants and Maoists agree to give up violence, they are welcome to join us and I would like to assure them that we will fight for them,” he said.

 

[EjazR]

i just see the Comments in India times regarding FATWA ...


So Much hatred against muslims

There is a misconception on what fatwa itself means among a lot of non-muslims.

Fatwa can loosely be translated as legal opinion(based on Islamic theology). It is not some obligatory binding decree because Islam does not have a unified clergy such as the Pope among Catholics for example.

This is one of the reasons for the "disorganized" situation of fatwas in todays world.

Also a fatwa is more credible and more acceptable when issued by a mufteeh (expert in Islamic jurisprudence) and basically the more expereinced and well known the instituion or scholar issuing the fatwa is the more acceptable is its opinion. But still it is not obligatory on anyone who can provide a legal basis for their decision.

An analogy can be taken if we look at the medical feild. A nurse may have an opinion about what the patient is suffering from but the opinion of a doctor is more credible and of a medical expert like an ENT or Heart specialist even more so. Moreover, the more experienced teh doctor is and the more well known the institution he graduated from is, the more respected and acceptable is his opnion about a prognosis. Ofcourse a layman or even an expert is some other field like Computer science or Civil Engineering or a Bussinessman who has no relation to the medical field will have no standing if he/she gives their opinion on a medical condition even though they may be experts in their own field.


Similarly any hafiz (a person who memorised the quran), mulla(person who has basic learning in Islamic teachings) or imam (person who leads the prayer) can give a fatwa although this is discouraged as they may not have right information/knowledge to give the fatwa (religious opinion). Teh importance and credibility of a fatwa increases as and when the person giving the fatwa is well known in circles of Islamic jurisprudence and is himself a qualified mufti. If it is issued from a mufti of a well known institute then the importance of the fatwa increases as well over those issued by minor players in this regard.

The problem is aggravated when even doctors and bussinesman (hinting at Zawahiri and UBL) start giving fatwas when they have not studied any Islamic jurisprudence which go contrary to established and traditional Islamic teachings.

However, there are some exceptions were some shia sects who have a more established form of clergy do consider the fatwa of their religious clerics binding but this is in the minority.

This link provides a good overview of what a Fatwa means
Fatwa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Halaku Khan]

i just see the Comments in India times regarding FATWA ...


So Much hatred against muslims

It's a mountain of of a mole-hill. "Vande Mataram" can be taken to mean respect or loyalty or devotion towards the Motherland. It doesn't have to mean worship - which is the meaning that causes theological controversies.

Ultimately, though, nobody should be forcing anybody to say or not say anything.

This controversy will die down in due course of time.