Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05NEWDELHI6737
2005-09-01 13:52:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:  

INDIAN MUSLIMS REJECT EXTREMISM VIA FATWAS

Tags:  PGOV KISL KIRF PINR PHUM PTER IN IR 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 006737 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KISL KIRF PINR PHUM PTER IN IR
SUBJECT: INDIAN MUSLIMS REJECT EXTREMISM VIA FATWAS

REF: NEW DELHI 5216

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 006737

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KISL KIRF PINR PHUM PTER IN IR
SUBJECT: INDIAN MUSLIMS REJECT EXTREMISM VIA FATWAS

REF: NEW DELHI 5216


1. (U) Summary: The recent controversy surrounding a fatwa
from the Darul-Uloom Deoband seminary demonstrates the unique
ability of India's Muslim community to reign in signs of
extremism to maintain a moderate Islam identity. During
Panchayat (local) elections in Uttar Pradesh, three muftis
from the Darul-Uloom Deoband seminary issued a fatwa that
Muslim women contesting elections must wear purdah (the
veil). The strong outcry from Muslims, especially women, led
the seminary to impose a ban on individual muftis issuing
edicts on political matters. The fatwa raised questions of
gender equality and moral authority in Islam, the personal
law system for Muslims and parallel cleric-run legal
structures, the media's treatment of Muslims, and the
interplay of religion and politics in India. The mainstream
Muslim community, fearing that the BJP and the Left parties
would play up the fatwas as an Islamic threat for political
gains, resisted even a modest move towards extremism. Yet
again, India's Muslims have shown the world why they can
serve as a role model. End Summary.

Muslims Upset Over Recent Deobandi Fatwas
--------------


2. (U) Over the past three months, the Darul-Uloom Deoband
seminary has issued two controversial fatwas regarding
women's rights and responsibilities. The Darul-Uloom Deoband
is the largest religious and academic center for Islamic
studies on the sub-continent and offers education at all
levels to approximately 3,000 new students a year. According
to Mufti Mohammad Aamir Chandpuri, the seminary's muftis
(Islamic scholars capable of interpreting Shariat law)
comprise the Dar-ul-iftha, which can issue religious opinions
known as fatwas in accordance with the Hanfi school of law.
General Secretary of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Maulana Mehmood
Madani, explained that the fatwas cannot be enforced, and so
it is up to the believer to implement the opinions. The
Deoband school is more influenced by fundamentalist Wahabi
thinking than others in India.


3. (U) On August 16, three Darul-Uloom Deoband muftis issued
a fatwa stipulating that women contesting elections are

required to wear purdah. Several national Indian papers
reported different versions of the fatwa, inferring variously
that the Deobandis implied women should not contest elections
or were less intelligent then men. The statement set off a
strong outcry among women of all religions as well as some
Muslim clerics. Speaking to Poloff, Madani clarified the
fatwa and observed that Islamic law, in his view, has nothing
against women running for elections but requires all women to
wear purdah at all times.


4. (U) This controversy comes on the heels of the "Imrana
case," in which a woman was reportedly raped by her
father-in-law. In response, the Deoband school issued a
fatwa that she should no longer live with her husband.
However, newspapers carrying the story reported that the
seminary told Imrana to divorce her husband and live with the
rapist father-in-law. According to Madani, Imrana was given
the option to leave her husband's house because it was no
longer safe, but the idea that she should live with her
rapist is "totally false," he said. Nevertheless, most
Indians were left wondering why the seminary was putting out
such archaic edicts. Mehbooba Mufti, a Member of Parliament
and President of the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic
Party, summed up many Muslim women's feelings in an
editorial, writing that "Every time a fatwa is issued without
sparing a thought to the consequences of such
interpretations, the brunt is always born by women."
Media Misinformation Campaign?
--------------


5. (U) Islamic scholars protest that the Indian media is
misinterpreting Muslim statements in an effort to
sensationalize the news and scare readers with the "Islamic
threat." Mualana Qari Mian Mazhari, the Editor of the
"Secular Qayadat" magazine, explained to Poloff that ideally
"affected parties" are supposed to ask for the Deobandi
guidance, but a journalist had sent in the question about
appropriate dress for female politicians in order to spark a
controversy. The intent, commented senior journalist Zafar
Agha, is to "build up the politics of the Islam scare and
create an enemy." The BJP is stuck in its own internal
debates (Ref A),but is still looking for an anti-Muslim
rallying point, said Agha. Madani complained that the media
is running a "misinformation campaign to malign Muslims." On
this point, he believes the Left has joined hands with the
BJP in the fight against Islam. Some Muslims worry that an
irresponsible media, under the guise of the war on terror, is
playing up the danger of Islamic extremism. In an August 26
article in the "Indian Express," senior journalist Saeed
Naqvi charged "participation in this war on terror gives
legitimacy to the media's relentless quest for jihadis
within, which, with careless editing and lazy programming,
begins to touch limits where Muslims find themselves
demonized."

Or Deoband Power Struggle?
--------------


6. (U) Although news reports do obfuscate the facts and
sensationalize the debate, other Indians point to these
fatwas as evidence that the Darul-Uloom Deoband is trying to
increase its power by extending the parallel legal system
(Nizam-e-Qazi). Under the Code of Criminal Procedure of
1973, only matters of personal law including marriage,
divorce and property can be delegated to Darul Qazas, or
Islamic courts, to be decided according to Shariat law. Qari
Mian Mazhari, the Editor of the "Secular Qayadat" magazine,
who follows the more tolerant Barelwi school, emphasized that
the two recent fatwas are outside the domain of personal law.
Now that the Congress party has returned to power, he
believes the Wahabis who influence Deoband see their chance
to regain ground lost under the BJP and issue fatwas outside
of the traditional domain. The strength with which Muslims
are challenging this trend, the editor noted, is healthy for
Islam in India.

Deoband Relents and Reigns in Political Fatwas
-------------- --


7. (U) After the fatwas, pressure within the Islamic
community led the Vice Chancellor of the Darul-Uloom Deoband
seminary to issue a ruling that individual muftis would no
longer issue religious edicts on any subject with a political
overtone, and that a seven-member "jury" under his
supervision would look into such matters. According to Agha,
Muslims were afraid that the controversy would fuel the BJP
efforts against them, and therefore called for a retraction.
Mullahs have lost their hold over Indian Muslims, said Agha,
and therefore had no choice but to relent. Starting with the
Babri Masjid demolition in 1992 and continuing through the
Gujarat riots in 2002, people saw that the mullahs could not
protect them. The Muslim community turned towards politics
to fill this need, and "feels protected by Congress." Agha
observed that there is "churning across the community" to
modernize and think beyond security to economics. Muslims
look at the Dalits, he commented, and wonder why they, too,
haven't made the same progress.

Comment: Fatwas Aren't Working Like They Used To
-------------- ---


8. (U) Comment: A dynamic, moderate Muslim community in a
democratic India is limiting the religious and political
space needed for retrogressive and controversial fatwas to
succeed. Recent political experience has shown the Muslim
community that the perception left by backward looking fatwas
hurts their cause in the democratic process and gives the BJP
and Left parties fodder for their own ambitions. Muslims are
analyzing the effects of religious extremism within a
democracy and pushing back at self-appointed bastions of
religious authority. There are still, however, serious
questions which loom: the Supreme Court has agreed to review
a Public Interest Litigation questioning the validity of the
parallel legal system, again putting Muslim groups on the
defensive. Ultimately, the ability to debate these issues,
both publicly and internally, gives the average Indian Muslim
a say in how his religion progresses. This is unique to
India's democracy, and allows the common man to rein in
attempts by some towards extremism.


9. (U) Visit New Delhi's Classified Website:
(http//www.state.sgov/p/sa/newdelhi)
MULFORD