Even as the All Indian Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) awaits the Supreme Court notice on a petition questioning the legal validity of the ‘‘orders’’ of Darul Qaza and Darul Ifta, the members insist that ‘Qazas’ are not a parallel system but have been complementing the work of the judiciary for years.Dissociating Darul Qaza (which gives ruling on marriage/divorce and issues of inheritance under Islamic law) from the Darul Ifta under which the fatwas are issued interpreting the religious text, AIMPLB spokesperson Qasim Rasool Ilyasi said: ‘‘We (the Personal Law Board) never issues fatwa and we never endorse fatwas. Fatwas are opinions and they tend to vary. But the Qaza system has been complementing the work of the judiciary without any dispute ever.’’Pointing out that a simplified, alternative dispute resolution mechanism is accepted internationally, AIMPLB members said the Qaza system was comparable to the special tribal law prevalent in the North-East, the Akal Takht or the Lok Adalats. ‘‘There has never been a dispute over these systems, why should Qazas be targetted?’’ Ilyasi said.Legal counsel Zafaryab Jilani, also an AIMPLB member, sounded a conciliatory note: ‘‘Islam has to adjust to the modern times. Rigidity of any sort will not serve any purpose. Within the community, we need to take measures to educate our maulanas.’’ But the community, he said, abides by the Shariat only in cases on personal law and not criminal law and ‘‘therefore, there is not violation of the Constitution of the country’’ in any manner.The AIMPLB working committee meeting slated for August 28 in New Delhi would discuss the issue.
