The Hindu : National : AIMPLB differs on small family norm

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 15, 2004

National

National

AIMPLB differs on small family norm

By Javed M. Ansari

NEW DELHI. SEPT. 14. After the initial excitement caused by a high-ranking cleric and vice-president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, Syed Kalbe Sadiq's suggestion that Muslims adopt the small family norm, comes the dampener. The AIMPLB as well as other religious figures from within the community have distanced themselves from the move.

The Muslim Personal Law Board is a representative body of Muslims and it deals with issues relating to personal laws governing the community — marriage, divorce, and women's right to maintenance and inheritance.

In Lucknow, the AIMPLB president, Maulana Rabe Hasan Nadvi, rejected the idea saying that the family planning concept itself was " un-Islamic and cannot be accepted". While the Board spokesperson, Qasim Rasool Illyas, today made it clear that Maulana Kalbe Sadiq's views were his own and should not be taken as the view of the Board. "He is a very senior and respected person, but the board has not taken a view on this and what he has said must be his own opinion."

Maulana Kalbe Sadiq is a high-ranking Muslim cleric and is held in esteem within the community especially among the Shia's. A resident of Lucknow, the Maulana has shown a tendency to think out of the box, compared to his other colleagues in the AIMPLB. His suggestion that the Muslim community consider the option of going in for smaller families and concentrate on educating their children is the latest such instance. Maulana Sadiq also made public his intention to raise the issue at the next meeting of the AIMPLB in December.

`Statistics foisted'

His remarks however have sparked off a debate within the community, with some of his fellow clerics like the Jammait Ulema Hind leader, Mehmood Madani, coming out openly against it. According to Maulana Madni the move is ill timed. He is also opposed to it on two grounds. "Firstly, the figures show that the growth rate is coming down, yet this whole issue has been foisted on the community by the communalists in a manner that it puts us under pressure. If we issue an appeal at this juncture it would mean that we are accepting their view that the Muslim population is growing exponentially, while it is not. Secondly, there is no religious sanction for family planning," Maulana Madni, told The Hindu.

The AIMPLB spokesperson also objected to the suggestion that the community be advised to adopt the two-child norm. "It is not within the purview of the board to issue an edict on the matter," he said. Mr. Illyas made it clear that as far as the Board was concerned it would certainly be willing to discuss the issue. He also made the point that neither the Constitution nor Islam permitted coercive family planning.

Maulana Kalbe Sadiq however found support from Sughra Menhdi of the All India Muslim Women's Forum. "There is nothing un-Islamic about going in for a small family," she said. Dr. Mehndi was of the view that as long as the community was not forced to adopt the small family norm and did it in its own interest, there was nothing wrong with it.

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