Frightening Contours of a State Within State

Darul Uloom has done it again. By issuing a Fatwa, loaded with fundamentalist frenzy, the seminary has reiterated its earlier stand that singing of the national song, Vande Matram, by Muslims is ‘haram'. Obviously the Deoband Ulema have openly expressed utter contempt for the majesty of India's Constitution and delivered a body blow to the ideal of national integration.  The timing of the ‘fatwa' has surprised everyone, especially when the stand of the Ulema had been known now for several years.  Apparently the  provocation for spewing hatred against singing of  ‘Vande  Matram' by Muslims, once again, was the visit of the Union Home Minister to Deoband and the presence of  renowned Hindu Yoga Guru, Swami Ramdev, at the massive conclave of Muslim clerics. No wonder the air is thick once again with acrid smoke rising out of the communal cauldron lit by the Deoband clergy. The facile reasoning of the Ulema against singing of Vande Matram is that the national song means bowing before Mother India, and bowing before anyone except Allah militates against the tenets of Islam. Though the fanatic Ulema, Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e Hind and members of the Muslim Personal Law Board loudly proclaim that Muslim cannot bow before anyone except Allah, they conveniently forget that in the not too distant past, during Muslim rule, all Muslims, including the highest of the Ulema, had no hesitation in bowing before Muslim rulers like Akbar, Shahjahan and Aurangzeb and several cruel kings.  And there is no dearth of Muslims in India who readily bow before their fathers and mothers. What could then be the motive of re- issuing the fatwa against Vande Matram?  Well, the intention was to emphasise the separate identity of Muslims and keeping them away from the national mainstream.

Another fatwa issued by the Ulema of Darul Uloom was against acts of terrorism and suicide bombing being committed across the globe by Muslims. The ulema declared that these were against the basic tenets of Islam. But it came with a rider in the form of a caveat that concept of jihad is a constructive phenomenon -   whatever that might mean.  

Interestingly the website of Darul Uloom defines ‘terrorism' as the "struggle of resistance of the weak for securing their legitimate rights against suppression."  Could there be a more brazen attempt to defend the jihadi terror stalking the civil society worldwide?

Last update : 29-11-2009 16:53

Keywords : Hubris of Darul Uloom, Ram Kumar Ohri

Average user rating

   (0 vote)