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Pakistani cleric issues fatwa on Indian fatwa

* Jamaat-ud-Dawa cleric says cow major cause of ‘idolism and polytheism’

By Fareed Farooqui

KARACHI: An Islamic scholar in Pakistan has warned that a fatwa on slaughtering cows issued by an Indian Muslim cleric will “encourage Hindu beliefs” in Indian Muslims.

The disagreement is sectarian pitching the Jamaat-ud-Dawa organization of the Ahle Hadith sect against the Darul Uloom Deoband organization of the Deobandi sect.

A few days ago, the mufti or head cleric of one of India’s biggest madrassas, the Darul Uloom Deoband (DUD), Mufti Habibur Rehman, said that Indian Muslims should take care when slaughtering the cow that is considered sacred by Hindus. He pointed out that the slaughter of the cow is prohibited under Indian law and thus it was not right to use its meat secretly.

In response, the head of Darul Ifta wa Al-Qazzath of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JD) Pakistan, Mufti Abdul Rehman Al Rehmani, said that the “fatwa” should be withdrawn immediately and justified. “The fatwa encourages Hindu beliefs,” Al Rehmani said while talking to Daily Times on Tuesday. His official stance was published on the JD website the same day (www.jamtuddawa.org).

Polytheism: Al Rehmani claims that Rehman’s “fatwa” is wrong because according to Islamic education the cow was a major cause of idolism and polytheism. “And if Mufti Habibur Rehman tells Indian Muslims to comply with Indian law, then the coming generations of Muslims in India will be involved in Hindu beliefs,” said the text.

Al Rehmani argues that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) preached Islamic teachings secretly and was not deterred that the Quraish of Makkah did not want the religion to spread. The Muslims in India are in minority and according to international law, Muslims in non-Muslim countries are allowed to follow their beliefs freely, he added. Also, India claims to be the largest democratic and secular country of the world. “And if the democratic state’s minorities fear following their religion, then the peace of the whole world will be in great danger.” He also argued that the “fatwa” is against the Shariyat as the meat of cow is Halal and it cannot be declared Haram.

The DUD’s Mufti Habibur Rehman has clarified on his website, , that he did not give any fatwa saying that the slaughter, use and sale of the meat of the cow is Haram. He was asked by a resident of Muzaffarnagar on the phone if it was right to slaughter the cow and use its meat secretly. “I replied on the phone that eating the meat of the cow is legal in the Shariyat but it is prohibited here according to Indian Law. Therefore, Muslims should take care in this regard and slaughtering the cow and eating its meat secretly is not the right thing.” He added that his statement has been carried in the Indian media.

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