Muslim community urged to give up fatwa politics

“As usual, the stalwarts of major political parties are leaving no stone unturned to divert ourattention from the real issues. But we will vote for candidates who have a good reputation, the ability and, more importantly, the courage to fight against the disruptive forces both inside and across the border,” he added.

On February 13, three days before the first phase of the polls, the Naib Imam is expected to announce fatwah on behalf of the Shahi Imam. But going by the mood of the Muslim voters, this “will hardly prevent them to vote for the candidate of their own choice.”

Coming down heavily on fatwah politics, IFS officer-turned-politician and co-convenor of the Committee for the Defence of Secularism Syed Sahabuddin said: “How can one issue a fatwah when one has no right to do so. Only a Mufti can issue such a direction, especially in the case of divorce or other caste-related matters. The Imam has no right to issue any such direction.”

He appealed to voters to support the strongest candidate of any party who has the best chance to win and who will defend the secularethos of the country. Sahabuddin further stated: “The Imam’s appeal failed to woo Muslim voters in the Delhi Municipal Corporation elections. And here we are talking about the Lok Sabha elections.”

Irrespective of party affiliations, several political leaders have approached the Imams to seek their “blessing”.

Without divulging the names of the leaders who have visited the Jama Masjid so far, a spokesman of the Masjid said, “Everything will come out on Friday. We want a stable government at this juncture, especially when the country is in a state of administrative and financial bankruptcy.”

A senior Muslim leader said the lackadaisical attitude of the United Front government has also made the life of thousands of innocent people, currently behind the bars under TADA, more miserable.” One of the factors which is likely to play a decisive role in the elections is the `gross misuse of TADA’. Quoting a survey conducted by the Forum of Civil Liberties, a senior Congress leader said: “A majority ofthe Muslims held under TADA are innocent.” Calling it a draconian Act, he further said, “TADA was grossly misused in flagrant violation of Constitutional provisions and democratic rights by the various political parties to get mileage.”

According to Mohammad Yunus Siddiqui, president of the All India Babri Masjid Rebuilding Committee, no action has been taken in spite of the United Front Government’s promise to leave no stone unturned to curb the growth of communalism. He added that, under its Common Minimum Programme, the party had assured reconstruction of Babri Masjid, action for which has not been initiated.