HYDERABAD, 25 June — The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has ended a three-day session here, with community leaders telling Muslims not to lose heart despite the unprecedented attacks on their brethren in Gujarat.
Religious and political leaders also told thousands of Muslims gathered at a meeting that continued beyond midnight Sunday that the community must introspect for its own good. They called upon Muslims all over the country to strictly follow ‘Shariah’, or Islamic law, to protect the community from outside interference. It was a sea of humanity at "Darussalam", the headquarters of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party, and adjoining roads as religious scholars and leaders from various schools of thought addressed the gathering.
The leaders advised the community not to lose heart because of the largely anti-Muslim sectarian violence in Gujarat, where over 1,000 people have been killed since the end of February. On the other hand, Muslims need to introspect, unite and overcome their weaknesses, they said.
Syed Muhammad Rabey Hasni Nadvi, who was unanimously elected the board president, said Muslims should not lose hope. "The ‘ummah’ (the entire Muslim community) will continue to live on the earth and will never get defeated. Allah Himself has promised this but the condition is that we all obey His orders," he told the meeting amid slogans of "Allah-o-Akbar" (Allah is Great).
Rabey said communal violence such as the one that tore apart Gujarat would never wipe out India’s Muslims.
"If anyone thinks Muslims can be eliminated through killings such as what happened in Gujarat, he is wrong," he said. "If a community resolves to live, nobody can kill it." Blaming the deviation from ‘Shariah’ for the current plight of Muslims, the ‘ulema’, or religious scholars, said the best way to protect the Islamic law was to strictly follow it.
Expressing concern over the social evils that have crept into Muslim society, they said adherence to Islamic law alone could help them regain the lost glory. They warned the government against interfering in the community affairs of Muslims.
Sirajul Hasan, president of the Jamat-e-Islami Hind, MIM President and MP Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, Karnataka Housing Minister Qamarul Islam, and eminent religious scholars Hameeduddin Auqil Hussami, Muhammad Salim Qasmi, Khalid Saifullah Rehmani and Ashraf Ali were among those who addressed the meeting.
The board demanded the immediate rehabilitation of victims of the sectarian violence in Gujarat and reconstruction of the 300 mosques and tombs demolished by rioters and arsonists.
The board reiterated that it would accept the court verdict on a dispute centered over the site of the Babri Mosque, which Hindu fanatics demolished in Ayodhya in December 1992, sparking widespread sectarian violence. The board said it is opposed to the minimum age of 18 fixed by the government for the marriage of girls.
The board said the Child Marriage Act was not applicable to Muslims.
According to the act, the minimum age of marriage for girls is 18 and for young men 21. "According to Islamic law the marriageable age of a girl begins when she attains puberty," said board Secretary Abdul Rahim Qureshi.
