The Hindu : Karnataka News : Muslim board for reforms through consensus

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 16, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Muslim board for reforms through consensus

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, AUG. 15. The founder member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Mufti Ashraf Ali, said today that talaq as a way of separation as laid down in the Shariat would be discouraged to the best possible extent and used only when the couple reached a stage where all means of rapprochement failed.

Addressing presspersons here, he said Islam discouraged divorce as a matter of principle. Marriage (nikkah) was a contract between a man and a woman to live together for life. A man could not use talaq in a whimsical manner. The Shariat stipulated divorce in three stages (triple talaq) with the intention of giving the couple a chance to reconcile.

Contract

Noting that marriage and other related aspects of Muslim personal law was by word of mouth, he said even divorce was governed by the same principle. The contract of marriage ended only when talaq was pronounced at one go or three times over a period of time. If pronounced singularly, the couple should explore all means of remaining together, he added.

The former MP and founder member of the board, Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait, said talaq was a means provided by the Koran to end the relationship between a man and wife in a dignified manner. A woman too can seek annulment of her marriage by seeking "khullah'' and is free to approach the Qazi-e-Shariat if her husband failed to either offer her "khullah'' or "talaq".

Reforms

Mr. Ali said while principles governing the talaq would remain as they were, the board on the other hand had ushered in a process of bringing in social reforms within the community by way of mutual understanding and consensus.

Mr. Sait said the board was the sole representative of all issues pertaining to Muslims. Referring to the negotiations and other issues related to the Babri Masjid issue, he said while the board wanted it to be resolved amicably, things had not reached that far and it would abide by the court's decision.

Common civil code

On the need for a common civil code, Mr. Sait said the board opposed it. It was opposed to the Muslim personal law as decreed by the Koran. The personal law dealt with crucial issues such as marriage and succession and common civil code would hinder that. The Constitution had upheld secularism where everyone was free to practice his religion. On the efforts by Shankaracharaya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peeta, Jayendra Saraswathi, to resolve the issue, he termed they were made at the behest of the then "fascist" government. The board could not accept the suggestions "directing'' Muslims to allow Hindus to construct a temple on the spot where a mosque existed.

Masjid issue

So far, it had not been established that the mosque had been built at a place where a temple existed.

The title suit in this regard is pending before the Allahabad Bench of the Lucknow High Court, he said, and added that the board had agreed to abide by decision of the court in the past.

On the move by the Andhra Pradesh Government to grant reservation to Muslims, Mr. Sait said the board was not directly concerned with it.

There was a Constitutional provision to provide reservation to all educationally and socially backward sections of society. Kerala had granted reservation under this condition to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Muslims long ago. There was nothing new in it.

On jehad, Mr. Ali said distortion of its meaning was sad.

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