RIYADH, 7 July — All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will hold a national convention of Muslim leaders in India on Aug. 4 to chalk out a strategy to safeguard the constitutional rights of Muslims, who are being harassed by the law enforcement agencies, said AIMPLB Chairman Qazi Mujahid-ul-Islam Qasmi here recently.
These agencies have been implicating Muslim leaders in false police cases, allegedly on grounds of being anti-nationals, ISI agents, immigrants or terrorists, he said. Addressing Indian community members here Qasmi said that “we were working on the agenda of the convention and Muslim leaders representing all factions would be invited to attend the convention.”
Asked about the political empowerment of Muslims and Muslim leaders in India, he said that he was neither in favor nor in opposition of floating a new political party for Muslims. He, however, said that Muslims can emerge as a major political force in India, where their vote can prove to be decisive in 100 parliamentary constituencies and in 174 they can tilt the electoral balance in favor of a political party of their choice.
Referring to the issue of Babri Mosque, Qasmi said that the AIMPLB has constituted a panel to pursue the mosque case in the court. The 141-member AIMPLB, he said, had passed a resolution saying that the land dedicated as mosque shall always remain a mosque and every effort shall be made for the restoration of the mosque. The AIMPLB has appointed a panel to monitor the situation arising out of belligerent statements and policies adopted by the Hindutava forces who were responsible for the demolition of the mosque. The AIMPLB is also meeting the legal expenses of the legal battle over the mosque.
Asked about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s move to implement common civil code, Qasmi, who is a renowned Islamic scholar, said that Article 44 of the constitution, which calls for implementation of civil code, contradicts the provisions of the Article 25, which redefines religious and personal laws within the legal framework. Parisis, he said, have their own special courts in India, then why not the Muslims have rights to govern their affairs according to their religious and personal laws, he said.
On the issue of a uniform “nikahnama” (marriage contract), he said that the AIMPLB had constituted a sub-committee to work out a new draft of “nikahnama,” to be used by all Muslim groups. “This will ensure added validity to this document within the legal framework besides ensuring more recognition outside India like Saudi Arabia, where this document is often required to be presented for various purposes,” he said.
Referring to the hidden agenda of the communal forces like Bajrang Dal, Rastriya Swaymasevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), which have been the guiding force of the BJP in formulating policies; he said that “apparently, it does not seem that these forces are attacking us.” But, one can draw conclusion from the fact that the BJP governments in some states have replaced the history text books being taught in schools with books, which portrayed their own brand of communal interpretation of Indian history, Qasmi said.
In fact, over the years these communal parties have been successful in penetrating different political parties, strategic sectors, policy-making bodies, bureaucracy and media with its trained and ideologically committed cadre, he said. This penetration has created an anti-Muslim environment in a secular country, where Muslims already suffer from lack of courage and confidence, economic backwardness, lack of education, fear and uncertainties, Qasmi said.
