After the fatwa

The Darul Uloom’s statements in Deoband opposed exactly this brand of illogic, condemning terrorism as well as the easy conflation of Islam and terrorist activity. The Deoband seminary is heavy with history and association, though undermined by the crank fundamentalist groups (including the Taliban) that claim ideological descent from Deobandi syllabi. Though all Deobandi movements stress utter adherence to the textual standards set by Hanafi tradition and are “illiberal” in that sense, they are vastly different from what Amis tars as “Islamist”. As Barbara Metcalfe has written, politics is an empty box for Deobandi movements, filled expediently with what is best in a given situation — and they work best in secular regimes that give them the autonomy to prescribe “correct practice”. And this statement fits right into their policy of pragmatic response, protecting their flock and highlighting Islam’s concept of peace, in this current climate of suspicion and hostility, and the spiralling alienation of Muslims worldwide.

But the more heartening reading is that unlike Amis’s claim of Islam’s cold immutability, this statement also reflects the ongoing contests among the ulema, the way Muslim scholars have attempted to engage with and accommodate democratic values within the framework of Islamic law. And now it’s up to them to hold the faithful to it.

Deoband has called upon itself a standard of engagement with modern democracy it will have to strive to match.